Stolen
by Total Obsessive Bookworm
Summary: Sequel to my Burned, read that first! Neferet is controlling Stark and Zoey doesn't know how to stop her. Then Neferet strikes - but not in the way Zoey and the gang expected. Zoey has to choose - bring Heath back, or save Stark?
1. Chapter 1

**Right, so this is a sequel to my version of Burned, so don't read this unless you've read it! Again, I just want to say that I'm not copying the ideas of any of the other stories, I've read them and LOVE them and mine will be much different, I promise :) Anyway, let's face it, in the real series Zoey is eventually going to get pregnant at some point :L**

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_**Zoey**_

"Congratulations, Z!" my friends were saying, crowding around me. I nodded, trying to find my grandma.

"Zoey," Damien said suddenly. "What's wrong?"

I met his eyes. He looked really concerned. I felt the blood drain from my face. Everything started to feel surreal and everything was blurry. That was when I passed out.

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When I woke up I was lying somewhere really familiar ... my grandma's sofa? But ... why was I here? Why wasn't I in Italy trying to - ?

"Zoeybird?" It was my grandma's voice.

"Mhmm?"

"How are you feeling?"

Then it all came rushing back. Making Kalona disappear - but for how long? -, Neferet turning good, A-ya leaving my body for some unknown reason and ... and the _thing _I suspected was inside me. Great. I just wanted to go back to my unconscious state on the sofa and never, ever wake up. But of course my wish was no one's command.

"Is she awake yet?" I heard Stevie Rae twang as she came into the room with some other people I couldn't see from where I was lying. I didn't care enough to sit up and see.

"Yes, dear, she just woke up."

"Z? You okay?" Jack asked.

I groaned, turning over to face them.

"Zoey, you look really pale," Shaunee said worriedly.

"Yeah, and your eyes are bloodshot," Erin said.

I didn't reply. I looked at each of my friends before clearing my throat and saying, "Where's Stark?"

My throat sounded like there was a rock perched on it.

"Sleeping," Damien said, his eyes never leaving mine. "It took some time, but we finally got him to go to sleep."

I frowned. Not because of Stark, but because of Damien's behaviour. Why was he looking at me like that? It reminded me of when they all hated me after I kept Stevie Rae from them.

"So how did you do it?" Aphrodite asked from her seemingly permanent spot next to Darius.

"Do what?"

"Get rid of Kalona, thicko."

"Oh ... I don't think I did."

I expected an angry outburst from my friends, but the stunned silence that followed was worse.

"You - you didn't?" Erin stuttered.

"No. I can't be sure. I just have that feeling."

"I hate it when she gets that feeling," Shaunee muttered.

"As do we all, Twin. As do we all."

"GUYS! Can you just shut up for two minutes to let her explain?" The outburst came from Damien. The Twins glared at him.

I carefully studied my friends' faces before saying slowly, "As I said, I'm not sure. I just didn't get the feeling that he's totally gone."

"So how to we see to it that he will be?" Damien asked.

"I don't know. We wait, I guess, until we find out something."

"Great." It was a depressed chorus from my friends. Damien was still looking at me with that strange, calculating expression.

Stark came into the room. His hair was sticking up in random places and he was rubbing his eyes tiredly. He looked like hell.

"Hey, Arrow Boy, Zoey's awake," Aphrodite said.

He looked at me and smiled. "Hey."

"Hi." I thought fast. Should I tell him? Shouldn't I? Should I wait until I knew more or what? He was my Warrior. He had said it himself, several times. I could trust him with anything. I took a deep breath. "Stark, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Ooh, that's the break up tone," Shaunee murmured.

"Shut up," I snapped. She held her hands up, palms facing out, in surrender.

Stark followed me outside into the hall. I looked over my shoulder to the room we just left and found exactly what I expected. Aphrodite and the Twins straining to hear us. Darius was looking at them with a slightly amused expression. Damien had his back turned to us, but I knew he would have that really creepy look on his face. Jack was looking at him too, clearly worried. Stevie Rae was glaring at the three girls.

I sighed. "Come on," I said, taking Stark by the hand and leading him to the kitchen, away from listening ears.

"Z? What is it? You're really nervous."

"No, I - I just ... " I broke down then, sobbing into his chest.

Startled, he comforted me, murmuring, "Shh .. It's okay, Z, you're going to be okay."

When I finally pulled back and looked at him, I immediately wished I hadn't decided to tell him; it would crush him. But now it was too late. I had to.

"Stark.."

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm ... pregnant."

He was speechless. "Zoey, we didn't even ... "

"I know."

He didn't say anything else. He didn't put his arms around me when I started crying again. He just stared at me like I was a stranger, like he was seeing me for the first time.

"When you first came to Tulsa," I whispered. "Did you notice that my friends were mad at me?"

His eyes softened, but just for a moment. "Yeah, I thought something was weird."

"Well it was because Erik had just - "

"What? _Erik?_ Are you saying that - ?"

"NO!" I said automatically. "Although the truth is worse."

I saw Stark preparing himself out of the corner of my eye. Erik was a lowlife scumbag. If it was worse than him, Stark knew it would be pretty bad.

So it all came out. How Loren was a stereotypical vampyre, seducing me ... And I was stupid enough to fall for it.

When I finished, I watched him carefully. He stared not at me, but through me. I knew he was upset. I had no right to hope for anything else.

"He's dead?" he finally whispered.

"Yeah. But, Stark, I mean, I don't even know if I'm actually ... you know ... yet. I have to, umm, check."

He nodded, pressing his fingers to his temple.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

His head snapped up and he glared at me. "Why would you be sorry?" he asked abruptly.

"Well, why wouldn't I be? This is hurting you."

"It has nothing to do with me, Zoey. I love you. But I just didn't think you were _that_ kind of girl."

"I'm not!" I wailed. "I'm not. It's just ... Oh, Stark, it's so hard to explain. He was so sincere, so _good_ at it. I guess it made sense, in a way. Erik's the one who took over from him after he was killed. He had to be a good actor."

After blowing out a big breath, Stark said, "How did your friends find out?"

"Erik."

"Oh." As I looked at him, I wondered if Stark was on Erik's side. Not that there were any sides, but if he understood Erik more now. And understood me less.

"When was it?"

I knew what he meant immediately, and I wasn't about to embarrass both of us by pretending not to. "Not even a week before you came."

He nodded.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No." But he didn't elaborate, and he said the word without emotion.

"Stark, I - "

"Stop. You don't need to apologize to me, Zoey. Just ... well, just find out if you're right."

"Then what?" I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer.

After what seemed like an eternity, Stark forced a smile and said, "Then tell me."

I didn't deserve him. He was angry with me, I knew it deep down. He loved me, and I loved him, and he was willing to try and live with this. But I knew that things wouldn't ever be the same between us.

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**So with that, I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas :) This is my present to you :) See how nice I am? Now it's 3.32 p.m. and I didn't get to sleep til about 2.30 a.m last night .. And my brethren (I love that word) woke me up at 7, so I'm gonna go to bed for an hour or two :L**

**Hope the big fat man in the red suit got you all some great gifts! I'll try to update asap!**

**~Total Obsessive Bookworm **

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	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the positive reviews, guys. Sorry, that Julie person just really annoyed me..**

**And I know that a lot of people don't like the pregnancy thing, and neither do I tbh lol. It's just vital to the plot, especially because it's Loren's. So again, I apologize profusely.**

**I'm going to continue doing exactly what I was doing before I read that annoying review. I don't think I put too much info in my chapters, I've seen other people's stories that are way longer than mine. I make mine roughly 1000 words every time. Only a few times were they longer, and they were still only 2000 or something.**

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_**Stark**_

Stark stayed on his own in Zoey's grandma's house. He didn't want to speak to anyone, least of all Zoey. He sat on the bed in the spare bedroom and thought to himself. Just thought. He really did love Zoey, but he didn't think she was like _that_. Like all the other girls at the House of Night such as the Twins and Becca who were so ... _easy_.

She should have told him at the start. Then he could have dealt with it, somehow. But finding out like this was just rock bottom. It wasn't fair on Stark, not at all.

He didn't look up when someone entered the room.

"Stark, are you okay?" Damien asked.

"What is it, Damien?" Stark replied gruffly.

"I was just wondering ... Stark, what's going on with Zoey?"

With that, Stark's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's obvious that something's up. You're both acting kinda weird .. And you're not talking to each other. That's definitely not normal behaviour for you two. And since she banished Kalona again or whatever she did, Zoey's been acting strange anyway."

Stark smiled without humour. "You're very observant, Damien, I'll give you that."

"Stark, tell me what's happening."

He didn't reply.

"What? Is it a secret or something?" He was completely serious.

"Yeah, but it's not my secret to tell."

"Oh. Well, I don't want to get involved. I trust that you and Zoey will sort it out between yourselves. It's just that, well, Zoey's one of my best friends and I don't know what she did to make you so upset, but she's not a bad person, Stark. She's not. She's one of the kindest, genuine, most sincere person I've ever met."

"I know," Stark said bitterly. "That's what's so shocking about the whole thing."

Damien frowned. "I'm really sorry you're fighting, Stark, but I really don't appreciate you thinking badly of Zoey. I did once before and I regret it so much because I wrongly judged her. I hope you're not doing the same thing."

"Thanks for coming to speak with me, Damien. I know exactly what you're talking about. Zoey told me."

"Good, so we understand each other." With that, he left.

Stark let out a huge moan. He really did love Z, and he knew that he really was making the same mistake that Damien had. He collapsed back on the bed.

"Stark?" Zoey asked nervously.

He looked up. "Zoey?"

"Stark, I ... I'm ..."

"You found out?"

She nodded.

"And?"

"And I was right."

Blowing out a big breath, Stark stood up and faced Zoey.

"Are you really angry?" she whispered.

He shook his head.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Look, Z, come here." Stark sat down on the bed again and opened his arms for Zoey to sit on his lap. Surprised, Zoey walked over and sat tentatively on his left leg. Sighing, Stark wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. "I'm sick of doing this," he muttered. "You should know by now that you can sit on me comfortably."

Slowly, Zoey leaned back and rested her head against his shoulder. A few seconds later she turned and buried her head in his chest, sobbing.

"Zoey, I'm sorry."

"No, I am."

"Zoey, I shouldn't have been mad at you for something that happened before I even knew you. It was just ... It was just a lot to take in, that's all."

"I know. So I'm sorry. I should have told you before."

Stark didn't reply. He simply held Zoey while she cried and cried, totally ruining his shirt. But he wouldn't have had it any other way.

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**_Zoey _**

When I eventually stopped crying, Stark smiled and said, "Ready to face your grandma and friends?"

"No, but I guess I'll have to," I sighed, wiping my eyes.

I stood up and he jumped up quickly to steady me. "I'm fine," I muttered. He just chuckled.

"Are you going to tell them?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Damien already knows something's wrong."

I sighed. "I suspected as much. But I just have to tell them. Now."

"Come on," Stark murmured, taking my hand and pulling me towards the kitchen where I could smell my grandma's awesome pancakes.

Damien smiled radiantly when he saw us hand in hand. He nodded towards Stark. I frowned. I'd make him tell me what it was about later.

"Zoeybird, Stark, would you like some pancakes?" my grandma said, smiling.

"No thanks," I said at the same time Stark said, "Yeah, please." I glared at him and he shrugged, mouthing, "I'm hungry."

"Zoey, are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, Grandma. I have something to tell you."

"What is it, dear?" she asked, wringing out a cloth.

"Umm.. Well ..." Stark squeezed my hand.

"The thing is, umm, well ... Remember Loren Blake?"

"Do I ever," Shaunee muttered.

"Amen to that, Twin," Erin agreed.

"Yeah, but do you remember what happened between me and him?"

"Yeah, we know what you mean, Z," Damien said.

"Thanks. And after ... _that_ ... Well, the result of it ..."

"Wait, Z, are you saying you're pregnant?" Aphrodite said it straight out.

"Sorta ..?"

Grandma handed Stark his plate of pancakes absently. He tucked in immediately.

"Zoey ..." she whispered.

"I'm sorry, Grandma," I said, bursting into tears again.

"Zoey, this is big news ... Are you absolutely positive?"

"Yeah."

"Right. Well it's great news!"

We were all totally taken aback. Stark even stopped eating.

"What did you say, Grandma?"

"I said it's great. Zoey, you'll be a great mother, I know it!"

"Grandma, I ..."

"I don't think she was planning on keeping it." Stevie Rae looked at me as she spoke.

Grandma did a double take. "What?"

"I don't know. I'll sleep on it, okay?"

Grandma nodded. "There are beds set up for everyone in the main room."

I nodded but went to the spare bedroom. I wanted to be on my own. I had to think this over. Stevie Rae was right, of course, but Grandma had been so surprised that it got me thinking ... It wouldn't actually be Loren, though, would it? But, then again, it would be a part of him. Ugh! I really needed to think this over carefully.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry, I know it's been like FOREVER, and no, I don't have an excuse.. I've been back home since Monday so yeah, I should have updated. I don't know why I've been putting it off.. So, I apologize. And sorry if this chapter is really bad, which it is likely to be because when I wrote it I was on holidays and it was really sunny and the pool was right there.. So I got distracted.. Sorry. You can't really blame me, though.**

**And I just have one thing to say to one of the anonymous reviewers 'anna':**

**No, I will NOT go back and change things especially for you. And no, everything should NOT be written the way you want it to be. It should be written the way I want it to be because, you know, I'm kinda writing it. And I don't care if you don't recommend me to people.. I'm not changing everything just so you'll tell your friends about me. I have AWESOME fans who review LOADS of my chapters, and I don't need you or your friends to read this. So stop thinking it's all about you because it's not.**

**Sorry about that guys, it's just that it really annoyed me when she said, "Everything should be written the way I want it to be." I'm sure you understand. Anyway, on with the not-so-great chapter...**

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_**Zoey**_

When I woke up it was bright so I knew I should be asleep. I sighed as, once again, everything came rushing back with my consciousness. I liked being asleep. When I was asleep, everything disappeared and everything was perfect. But of course life is a different matter.

I groaned and heaved myself up. Something stirred beside me and I turned to see Stark sleeping. I glanced nervously towards the windows and jumped up to close the curtains where a slit of sunlight shone through.

Letting out a long breath of relief that my Warrior wasn't sizzling, I allowed myself to sit down again. There was a quick rap at the door, and, not wanting to wake Stark, I hurried over to open it myself.

Stevie Rae stood there. "Zoey, I couldn't sleep.. I thought you might want to talk about ..." she was obviously searching for the right word, "everything."

Unable to speak, I just nodded and smiled timidly.

We went down to my grandma's kitchen. I rushed in first to make sure the blinds were down. Thankfully, they were. We sat down at the table.

"So.. How does it feel?" she asked uncomfortably.

"Terrible," I brushed it off, "But you need to talk first."

"What?" She actually looked surprised.

"You said you wanted to talk about _everything_. I think you know what I mean." When she still looked confused, I said, "Rephaim."

"Oh." She didn't speak again for a few minutes, and I didn't push her. Eventually she came out with, "Zoey, I'm real sorry and all, but I hate your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?"

"You know. Stark."

"He's not really my boyfriend... And _hating _him is kinda harsh, isn't it?"

She gave a sarcastic snort and shook her head. "First, he shot me," she said, counting on her fingers. "Then he killed Rephaim and caused me serious pain in doing so."

I looked at her sympathetically.

"Plus, his personality. He loves himself."

"He doesn't," I snapped.

"Z, I'm sorry, but - "

"Okay," I said through my teeth, getting angry and defensive. "I don't really want to discuss why you hate the person that I possibly love most."

She glanced at me quickly. "Sorry," she said hastily.

"Stevie Rae, you need to tell me what you were doing in Italy and why you were Imprinted with a Raven Mocker." I was blunt and to the point.

She let out a long sigh. "Okay. You know when y'all called me because of Aphrodite knowin' I was burnin'?"

"Yeah."

"I lied about how I was burned. It was the other red fledglings, the bad ones. They trapped me and exposed me to the sun. Rephaim helped me to get out and I used Earth to open up that huge oak tree - you know the one I'm talkin' about?"

"Uh huh."

"I was real weak and Rephaim gave me his blood, even though it smelled all funny. Then Erik and Lenobia came, and you know the rest.

After a long pause, all I could come up with was, "Oh." Then, "I wonder where Erik is now? I didn't see him since before the burning thing."

Stevie Rae shrugged. "He was real nice, though, Z, I have to say that much for him."

"Okay," I said, wanting to move on quickly though I knew it was true. "So why did you come to Italy?"

"Well, I sent Rephaim to that haunted house place we went to last year. He found out that he could fly again and we decided that we should come here and find out Kalona's plan to help y'all."

"And you trusted him? A Raven Mocker? The favourite son of an immortal fallen angel?"

"Z," she said, forcing me to meet her eyes, "I was Imprinted with him. You of all people know what that's like. Of course I trusted him."

I remained silent.

"Anyway," she continued, "We also discovered that we could communicate through our thoughts - and actually talk to each other."

"Really? How??"

"If I thought something and meant for him to hear it, he could, and vice versa. I guess an Imprint between a Red vamp and a Raven Mocker has its exceptions."

"I guess."

"Rephaim was Kalona's favourite Raven Mocker, so he quickly-"

"Hold up. I'm thinking he wasn't as close to Kalona as he looked. If he was, why did Kalona even spare him a glance when he died?"

"Well, I was getting to that part. Rephaim soon found out his plan to basically burn up the whole world, like a speedy version of global warming. So he let me know, and I came. But when I arrived, Neferet saw me."

"Yeah, when Stark was fighting for his humanity he told me that Neferet was better at spying on people than Kalona." Then, finally, something clicked with me. "Neferet!" I shouted, jumping up.

"Z! Be quiet! The others are sleeping!" Stevie Rae hissed.

"No, I mean, where's Neferet? Where did she go?"

"I ... I dunno," Stevie Rae said, looking confused. "She's all nice again though, right?"

"Right, but I'd still like to know where she is."

"ZOEY!" Stark ran into the kitchen. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You were feeling all tense ..." I guess I wasn't surprised my yelling didn't wake him.

"I'm sure."

"I'd appreciate it if you just told me what had you so worried."

"You don't know where Neferet is, do you?"

He frowned. "No. Why?"

"It's just that I want to be sure that she's not lying to us or anything."

"But Z, you didn't get a bad feeling from Nyx when she told you she was good again."

"And when Kalona said for everyone to burn, she burned with us," Stevie Rae chimed in.

"Yeah, I forgot about that. You guys are right, she's probably fine."

Stark suddenly looked suspicious. "What are you two doing up here, anyway?"

"Talking," I replied.

"Yeah, now go away," Stevie Rae added with unnecessary hostility.

"Alright," he muttered, obviously too tired to care.

When he had left, I raised my eyebrows at Stevie Rae.

"What?" she asked innocently. "I told you I didn't like him."

"Okay, whatever. Tell me what happened next. Neferet saw you ... ?"

"Oh, yeah, before we were so rudely interrupted." She glanced at the doorway, though Stark had already gone.

"He's just trying to be a good Warrior."

"He's just being annoying."

"Whilst you're in such a wonderful mood, please do carry on with your equally wonderful, amazing, suspenseful story."

"Alright. I'll let that slip because of the mood swings you'll be getting. So anyway, just as I arrived by the House of Night jet, - "

"But we took the jet."

She rolled her eyes at my slowness. "Obviously they brought it back, Z."

I shrugged, walking to the refrigerator to get some brown pop. "Want some?"

"No. So, when I arrived, Rephaim came to meet me and Neferet was suddenly there. I think she was suspicious of Rephaim as it was. Then she asked if we were, by any chance, rebelling against Kalona. We lied and said no, and she let us go, but it was obvious that she knew we lied, bein' all intuitive and whatnot."

I nodded. "I don't know, Stevie Rae. I don't think she can be trusted. But Nyx never gave me a sign..."

"Z, you have plenty to worry about as it is."

I blew out a long breath. "I know."

"You're absolutely positive though, aren't you?"

"Yup. Unfortunately."

"And it's definitely Loren's?"

"Yeah, he's the only one that ... " I trailed off.

"Yeah, okay."

There was a long, awkward pause.

"So, are you going to keep it?"

"Yep," I said, sounding way more nonchalant than I felt.

Stevie Rae nodded. "That's good."

"Is it? I mean, it's _Loren's_ ..."

"Yeah, but that's not the baby's fault, Zoey."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I said reluctantly.

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**While writing this, I might as well have had my mom standing over my shoulder, she called me so much to get the hell off. But I knew I had to make up my absence to you guys, so hope you're happy :) I'm in trouble now :)**

**Anyway, I know it was bad, but I'll put more effort into the next ones.**

**Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Guys, come on, have some faith! Of course I'm gonna continue!! Anyways....**

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_**Stark**_

Stark wasn't back in bed long before Zoey came back. As she slid into bed beside him, he smiled slightly at the warmth of her body and he got a small tingle in his spine.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I guess. You?"

"I guess." A short pause. "So, have you decided what you're going to do with ... um ... ?"

"I'm keeping it." She replied uncomfortably.

Stark's heart missed a beat, and he himself couldn't say if it was from happiness or disappointment. "Huh," he grunted.

Zoey sighed and turned over to face him, putting her hand on his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. "Are you angry?"

Angry? How in the hell did could she expect him to be angry at someone so beautiful, so perfect, so loving?

"No," he told her sternly. "I'm not mad at you."

She smiled and snuggled up against him, and he couldn't resist putting his arm around her and kissing her long, dark hair. And they just stayed like that. Nothing needed to be said or done, Stark realized, when they were together. They were comfortable enough with each other that just their company alone was magical.

"Stark?" she asked after some time.

"Mmm?" His voice was muffled by her hair.

"Are you sure you're not mad?"

Upset, Stark pulled back and sat up to look her in the eye. Zoey sat up too. "Zoey, I already told you. I'm not angry - if I was, I'd tell you. The last thing I'd do would be to lie to you, Z."

"I know, but..."

"But what?" She had looked away from his face to her hands that were twisting around in her lap, and that worried him. Why was she avoiding his eyes?

"But things aren't going to be the same between us, are they?" she blurted quickly. Stark grabbed both her hands tight in his.

"Zoey," he began, then stopped. Zoey looked up again, and there were tears in her eyes.

"Zoey," he repeated, "This is a shock for me, obviously, but of course things are going to be the same. At least I assumed they were. If you don't think they will be, though, if you think something is wrong with us, you have to tell me now so I can do whatever I can - and I will do anything - to fix it. But I don't think there is anything wrong with us. I don't want this. But things like this.. They don't matter when you're..." He took a deep breath, "When you're in love."

Her head snapped up. "What did you say?" she said sharply.

"That this is a shock for me, but everything's gonna be the same, and -"

"Stark."

"And these things don't matter when you're in love." He was more confident this time.

"In love?"

He smiled warmly. "In love," he repeated. Zoey just stared at him, probably unaware that her mouth was hanging open.

"You're in love with me?"

Stark nodded solemnly. He suddenly realized that he didn't care if she didn't feel the same way. He didn't even care that she was pregnant. He just wanted to be with her. Always. He wanted to stand by her side, no matter what.

"Stark," Zoey said after some thought. "You're totally different from anyone else I've ever been with. And there's a connection between us that's even stronger than the one that was between me and Heath." Her voice trembled a little on his name. Stark rubbed her back comfortingly and waited patiently.

After a long pause, Zoey said, "I think I'm in love with you too."

"That's all I needed to hear," he said, and their lips met.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands grabbing fistfuls of his sandy brown hair as the kiss deepened. Stark moaned as his mouth moved off hers to trail along her jawline. "Damn, I love you so much," he murmured.

Just then the door opened and Stark and Zoey jumped away from each other like two kids being caught doing something they shouldn't be doing. Zoey's face reddened, and Stark smiled mischieviously. Then they looked to see who was at the door. Stark's high spirits instantly fell when he say it was Erik.

"Zoey," Erik said, completely ignoring Stark and probably what he had just seen.

"Erik? What are you doing here? Where were you?"

"When I stopped burning I went to the House of Night to see if everything was okay."

Stark froze, sensing there was bad news to come. "Is everyone okay?" Zoey asked. Her High Priestess nature had taken over, and her voice didn't waver.

"No," Erik said bluntly. "Everyone you cured in the infirmary is bad again after being burned and all."

"What about everyone else?"

Stark noticed that Erik looked really, really uncomfortable. "That's the part that's even worse," he said quietly, staring at his feet. "They didn't burn," he said simply, looking up at Zoey.

"What? They just didn't?" Stark asked, furious.

Erik looked at him, not even bothering to glare like he usually did. "No."

"What does that mean?" Zoey asked no one in particular.

"Isn't it obvious?" Stark shouted, not angry at Zoey but at Kalona for doing this to the other fledglings. "They're not against Kalona! He told Shaunee to burn _everyone against him._ The others are _still hypnotised!_"

"Stop shouting at me," Zoey said calmly, still in the High Priestess mode.

Shaking, Stark willed himself to calm down. To no avail.

He jumped out of the bed. "Come on. We have to go back and _do _something!"

"Not now, Stark. The sun is up."

"Which is exactly why he should go now," Erik muttered, earning a glare from Zoey. Stark took no notice of him. "Zoey, come on! You're the High Priestess! You have to do something _now_!"

"Stark, calm down and think. We're going to do something, of course we are. We have to talk to the others first, though. We have to think it through."

"But-"

"Us going back could be exactly what Kalona wants. We should ask the others what they think. Damien will know best."

Stark blew out a long breath. "Okay. You're right. I'll go get them."

* * *

**_Zoey_**

Stark left, leaving me and Erik feeling really awkward.

"So... You really do like him don't you?"

"That's none of your business, Erik."

"Well, it's hard not to notice when you're sucking face with him everytime I turn around."

"Erik, just shut up. Please."

He shrugged. "Just saying."

I ignored him. "We better go follow him," I said, hearing some voices.

Erik smirked and opened his mouth. "Don't even try," I said, brushing past him and walking to the kitchen where everyone else was. He quickly followed me.

"What is it, Z?" Stevie Rae asked, rubbing her eyes. I gestured towards Erik, and the others looked at him expectantly.

"The fledglings that Zoey cured at the House of Night are worse. Way worse. And the others just didn't burn."

It's funny how when my friends are told stuff like this there's either a really long silence or they all start talking at once. In this case, it was the latter. They were all firing questions at Erik and no one could hear what anyone else was saying.

"Quiet," Grandma said, and they all shut up. "Erik, how bad are the fledglings who burned?"

"Very," Erik murmured.

"Erik... Is T.J..." Erin trailed off.

"Um.. He's really bad." Erik said, upset for his friend. Erin looked away.

"The fledglings in the infirmary were completely against Kalona, and that's why they burned so much. So why didn't that happen to us? We're against him as much, if not more." I said.

Erik was looking at me like I was a total idiot. "Because of you, Z," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I just assumed that he didn't want anything bad to happen to your friends in case it upset you or something."

"But why would he care about how I feel? It's A-ya's feelings that really matter to him."

"I think it's time to think about whether it's you or A-ya he's trying to please, Z," Damien said. Jack and Shaunee nodded.

"Hold up. You guys think that it's me, not A-ya, that he loves or whatever sick thing he feels?" They nodded again.

"And now is the perfect time to test it," Stark said, trapping my gaze with his.

"I don't know, guys. I'm pretty sure it's A-ya. I was the one there all the time when he was talking to her, remember?"

"He's a good actor, Z. He's tricked you before," Damien said logically.

I sighed. "I don't want to have to deal with this right now. We need to help the other fledglings. Who thinks we should go back to the House of Night once the sun goes down?"

Everyone raised their hands except Stark, who cocked one eyebrow up. _Told you_ he mouthed.

"Alright. We'll leave in a few hours."

Everyone started chattering excitedly again. I looked at Stark, who had been standing at the other side of the small kitchen, but he was gone. I frowned. How did he get out so fast? Then I heard the screams.

Everyone turned to where they were coming from - Stark, having fallen to the floor.

Grandma rushed over to him, and so did I. She had a wet cloth in her hand and was dabbing at his brow. I sat down next to him and pulled at him so he was leaning on me. "Stark!" I screamed. "What's happening?"

His eyes were closed and I started to cry as I rocked him back and forth, and then the memories of the last time I did that came back and made me cry even harder.

"Zoey," Damien said, nodding towards Stark. I followed his gaze and his eyes were open again.

Stark's pupils were red and he was frothing at the mouth.

* * *

**Yeah, I know the ending isn't very House of Nightish. But what are you gonna do about it? I just spent an hour on this when I could have been doing my homework as I'm busy tomorrow, but I love you guys so much I did this. And I know that after Burned I stopped updating so regularly, and I'm sorry for that. I know you guys deserve another chapter so here it is. And it's extra long.. Nearly 2000 words, not counting this author's note part =)**

**Thanks for all the reviews - Over 100 in like what 3 chapter? Amazing.**

**Oh and by the way, I only need one more review on Burned to get to 500 cough cough wink wink.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So I finally finished my homework early.. I'm gonna take a stab at the next chapter now, even though I have no idea where to go from the last one.. lol. **

**But first things first... Anon reviewer, Ashley T... **

**'i dont like ur story. srry it doesnt seem to catch my interest.' **

**You don't suffer from severe dyslexia, by any chance, do you? In the bottom of the review box, it clearly says, "A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding gift a reader can give . Please use this golden opportunity to offer a well deserved praise and/or tips for improvement." **

**So yeah, this is specifically what I asked for. Either leave a nice review like most (awesome) people did, or give some CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. As in CONSTRUCTIVE or none at all. And if you can't give either of these, just don't review. Seriously, I'm sick of spelling it out for these annoying idiots! **

**I think this is a great time to thank all my AWESOME reviewers who actually DID give good reviews or told me where I can improve. You guys are the reason I'm actually doing this thing.**

**Oh, and I'm not P.C and/or Kristin Cast. If I was I would have a lot more money and would be focusing on the real books instead of doing this. Just to clear that up. And, once more, NO, this is NOT the real thing, dammit! Stop asking that! It's FANfiction! And anyway if it was the real thing I'm pretty sure it'd be illegal for me to put it up here. FINALLY, on with the goddamn story! (sorry, these annoying reviewers really make me angry!) Happy now? I just wasted 325 words writing this damn author's note, thanks to 'Ashley T.'!**

**This chapter is for Nyx's chosen one.. Yep, for once I didn't take FOREVER to upload.. So now that I've done it, you go update yours!!**

**

* * *

**

_**Erik**_

Erik watched, first with amusement when Stark collapsed, and then with horror when he opened his eyes. They were red. Oh, and he was frothing at the mouth, too. Erik was no longer amused by the image of his competition, as he liked to think of Stark as. He was appalled, repulsed.. frightened.

Zoey looked up, looking lost and terrified. She was obviously seeking help from someone.

"Zoey," Damien said, inclining his head towards Stark. Zoey looked back at the body in her arms and let out a moan of horror when she saw his eyes. Stark was staring at her without recognition.

"Stark," she whispered, reaching out a little shakily to touch his cheek. He snarled and pulled away, jumping out of her arms nimbly. Her hand still stretched out, as if she was too shocked to take in what had just happened.

But Erik was the only one looking at Zoey. Everyone else was looking at Stark with scared looks on their faces.

Stark was standing in the middle of the kitchen, crouched as if ready to pounce on anyone who moved. He swiftly moved closer to the door, probably to stop anyone who tried to leave. Erik found himself slowly backing away.

Stark looked at him and let out a low, menacing growl **(that sounds familiar.. Is it in Twilight or something? Oh, the things that keep you up at night...)**. Erik held up his hands, palms faced out, as if in surrender.

"Stark," Zoey said again, standing up slowly and stumbling towards him. Stark bared his teeth, but she took no notice.

"No, Zoey!" Erik said, grabbing her by the shoulders as she tried to walk past him.

"Let me go!"

"No! I don't know what that is, but it sure as hell isn't Stark! Keep back from him, Zoey!"

"Let. Me. Go." Zoey said again, thrashing against him.

"I said keep _back_."

"And _I _said let me go!"

"Stop it, Zoeybird," Zoey's Grandma said. Zoey actually listened to _her_.

"Told you," he couldn't help saying in her ear as she stopped pulling and held still. She ignored him. "Why?" she whispered hoarsely.

"Zoey, Erik is right. Stark has clearly been possessed by something ... or someone. We need to keep back for now and try to communicate with him in short, simple sentences."

"How do _you_know?" Zoey muttered in defeat.

"I don't." Her grandma replied simply before turning towards Stark. "Stark," she asked gently, earning a small, inhumane growl.

"Stark, you need to listen to me."

"Move." Stark said. Except it wasn't his voice, it was deeper and darker. It also made Zoey whimper, and 'Stark' flashed a glare at her.

"Stark, - "

"MOVE!" It shouted. "MOVE OR I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

It was amazing how very _un_like Stark it sounded. Grandma Redbird moved out of his way quickly. Stark walked to Zoey. Erik's hands moved defensively up to her shoulders again.

"Zoey," the strange voice whispered, cupping her cheek in its hand.

Erik pulled Zoey back, but she shoved him away and leaned into Stark, breathing heavily. Erik clenched his teeth. Why him?

Suddenly, like a light had been switched off, the red in Stark's eyes were gone and his pupils were once again black. He looked totally confused.

"...Zoey? What? I was over by the wall..." he looked over, "How..? Did I....?"

Zoey wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder. Erik gave Z a stony look, but she didn't see. He stormed out of the room, but she probably didn't notice that either.

* * *

**I planned to do a wayy longer chapter, but it would take me longer so sorry but I wanted to put up something for you guys.. And here's another seriously annoying review by an anonymous reviewer called 'Courtney'...**

I absolutely hate everything you have written. One...if that happen to Zoey she wouldn't lose her marks. That would mean Nyx was displeased with her. Zoey losing her markings would make her less credible to the council. Next Stevie Rae would never be that harsh. If she accidentally snapped and did treat someone that bad she would have immediately apologized. Lastly Aphrodite is not that horrible; if you haven't noticed, she does not treat Zoey that way. She may be hateful to everyone else but not to Zoey. When I found Burned with the association of the House of Night I was very excited. I have just finished Tempted and was upset not to have the next book to go to. When I started reading I believed this was the real deal. However, after the second chapter I started doubting that this was what I wanted. You need to make sure that it is known that this is not the real book. I believe if you want to write an extra to the House of Night Books then you need to reread them, because obliviously you do not understand the characters of the series. Your depiction of the book is horrid. Your "book" is colored by your infatuation with Starks. I love Starks, however I do not like your version of him. Consider deleting this "book" and rereading the originals

**...Where to begin? lol.**

**Okay, well first of all the thing I hate about anonymous reviews is that you can't write back. Most of the ones who leave comments like this don't even realize this is called FANFICTION. And when I write about them in Auothor's Notes, they most likely won't even look at it again!! Ugh I hate them so so much...**

**So, back to this Courtney person, emm well if you think you know the books so well you'd know that she actually loses her Marks in Tempted, not in my fanfic. Yeah, so I don't know why the Casts decided to do that, but they did and I'm sure they have great plans for the REAL Burned. And did you not notice that Stevie Rae was acting different since she came back from the dead or whatever? So excuse me if all the characters aren't to perfection for you.**

**I don't seem to recall making Aphrodite horrible to Zoey. I don't think I did. And if I did, it was totally unintentional, but I'm pretty sure I didn't.**

**If you were doubting this was the real Burned after the 2nd chatper, I should congratulate you. Did you not notice this was FanFiction like at all? It IS in fact known that this isn't the real book. First of all, I repeat it's on FANFICTION, so obviously it's not the real one. And especially for dim people like you, I said at the end of several chapters that I am a DISCLAIMER and I DO NOT own the House of Night.. So yeah learn to open your eyes a little bit there would ya?**

**I don't care what you 'believe'. _I _'believe' that I've read the House of Night loads of times and I'm not gonna reread them just coz you tell me to. I'm not gonna let you bully me into it (btw I'm being heavy on the sarcasm here).**

**So then 'Courtney' reviewed my next chapter of Burned. She said, **

Oh I forgot...do you know what spell check is.

**Yes I do, thank you very much. Do you? Because when I was typing this up, I couldn't at first do spell check because my computer has Notepad and doesn't have it. I didn't bother proof-reading the chapters because frankly they were too long. So then I started typing them up on the actual FanFiction (again I emphasise the word) website so I could do spell check. Problem solved, dopey.**

**So yeah, maybe you should look into proof-reading your own massages. Where did you go wrong...? Oh yeah..**

**1: Happen (I suppose you mean happened?)  
2: Obliviously (Yeah, probably obviously?)  
3: Starks (His name is Stark.)**

**Yeah, personally I don't think I've coloured my story with my infatuation with him. And I'm never going to delete this stuff... Why don't you write a fanfic and see if you get over 500 reviews? Or 192 reviews for 4 chapters? If you're so great, do that and lets see how wonderful you are then.**

**Sorry about that rant, there... I really just hate these damned anonymous reviewers!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow okay... You guys are like the awesomest people ever.. Seriously.. 220 reviews in like 5 chapters? Wow. I would say that this looks like it'll be more successful than Burned, but I don't wanna jinx it.. Oopsies, too late :P**

**I'm not joking anymore. The fanfics you absolutely HAVE to read are Burned, Stolen and Burdened by Nyx's chosen one and The Tragedies of Zoey and Stark and Burned by ArrowBoy'sGirl... Seriously, these guys are like the most talented people EVER.**

**Finally (yeah, I know these things at the start are seriously boring, but I'm nearly done), thanks so so much to everyone who left the reviews about Courtney and whatshername. They were epic. And I really have to say to the anonymous reviewers who leave nice reviews (cause I _do_get loads of them), some of you took it the wrong way.. I didn't mean I hate anonymous reviews, if I did I'd disable them. I just hate the horrible ones because when they're anonymous I can't write back to them. Just to get that all cleared up - coz really, keep leaving those sweet anonymous reviews xD**

**Sorry for the last chapter's shortness!**

**Let's see how this one's gonna turn out....**

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_**Zoey**_

"Zoey," Stark murmured. My arms were still wrapped tightly around his neck. I never wanted to let go, ever. If I kept him here with me, everything would go away - the pain of the loss of Heath, the possibility of Stark being like one of those misfit red fledglings, the question of where Neferet was, how Kalona was gone and would eventually come back to torment me some more... Everything was gone except me and him together.

So stubbornly, I wrapped my arms even tighter around him. He sighed. "Zoey, please... Can you tell me what happened?"

I looked up, my eyes filled with tears. "Stark, please.. please stop it."

He looked totally confused. "What's wrong? What did I do?"

I shook my head, the tears spilling over as I cried into his shoulder.

Stark rubbed my back soothingly, but I could tell that he was upset and thought he had really done something while he was ... How would you describe it? Evil? Animal? Scaring the hell out of me?

"Zoey, please." He said, his voice breaking.

"You didn't do anything, Stark!" It came out harsher than I'd intended.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked, not at all bothered by my outburst. He just sounded really disbelieving.

"Because..." I stopped, wondering how to explain it without sounding dramatic and stupid. "I just..." Ah, hell. It wasn't possible to put it in a way that made me sound at least half normal. "I just thought that I was going to lose you too," I said in one breath, not looking up. His hand froze for a second, but then quickly rubbed my back again as I cried into his shirt. Again.

Yes, I knew I sounded like a total idiot. No, I didn't give a damn.

"Aww, Z!" Stevie Rae said. I heard her getting up and soon another pair of arms were around me. I cried even harder because it was one of those moments when I realized how great my friends are and how I had taken them for granted way too much. And to think I had always thought that Kayla and all my other shallow 'friends' would never ditch me or betray me.. It made me suddenly laugh hysterically as I realized how totally dumb I was. I had been friends with Kayla all my life. Yet I could be sure that Stevie Rae, who had been my best friend for about two months, would never say or do anything behind my back.

"Zoey? Are you okay?" Damien asked worriedly as I continued to laugh.

I nodded as I turned to face them. "I just really love you guys," I said, smiling.

"O..kay?" Aphrodite raised a perfect eyebrow. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Zoey, seriously. The suspense is killing me. What the hell happened to me?"

"You went all crazy and tried to attack us, that's what happened," Stevie Rae snapped.

I glared at her. Stark looked really upset. "Stark, you didn't exactly - " I started.

"Oh, shut up, Zoey! You know I did! Just... Just _stop _treating me like a child, okay? I can handle the damn truth!"

I was completely stunned. He had never said anything like that to me. Ever. Yeah, admittedly I hadn't known him that long, but still, we'd been through more than most Warriors and Priestesses had.

I was silent, too shocked to cry. Of course my friends weren't.

"No wonder she treats you like a child when you act like one!" Shaunee yelled at him. I would have told her to stop, but I was still staring stupidly at Stark. His chest was heaving and his eyes were tortured, with self inflicted anger. He met my eyes evenly. He didn't calm down like I sort of expected him to. We just stared at each other. Me, looking stupid, and him, just plain angry.

"You did _not _just tell a 17 year old High Priestess with affinities for all five elements to shut up," Aphrodite said, clearly enjoying herself.

"Okay, everyone's upset," Damien tried to reason with us. "We all said things we shouldn't have said. So let's just apologize and -"

"Shut up." From the way he was talking, I expected Stark's eyes to go red again. But they didn't. This time he was being a butt and was actually in control of himself.

"Now, now, let's not fall out over something silly," my Grandma tried to help Damien.

"Shut up," Stark said again, his eyes never leaving mine.

And that's what made me lose it.

"Did you just tell my Grandma to _shut up_?!" I screamed. "How _dare_ you! Stark, I told you about everything that happened to me with guys. I thought you were different and that you actually understood me. But you're no different from Erik, from Loren! I'm sorry, but I really did think you were better than them. But you're not. Get out, Stark. Just get out of my Grandma's house!"

No, I didn't want him to go. Not really. I was just really mad. Stark had underestimated how close I was to my Grandma. No one told her to shut up.

"You don't have to be sorry, Z," Erin murmured, breaking the awkward silence.

I was still seething and although I didn't mean all the hateful things I said to Stark, I was still super angry with him. "Why are you still _here_?!" I shouted.

"Zoeybird, calm down. Stark doesn't mean what he said. He's just upset because - "

"Because what?" I wasn't asking my Grandma, I was asking _him_. "Why are you upset, Stark?"

For the first time since Shaunee spoke, Stark's eyes dropped from mine. He looked ashamed. "I'm sorry," he whispered really quietly, but it was so silent in the kitchen and the atmosphere was so tense that everybody heard him. I knew he really meant it, but I couldn't forgive him.. Not yet.

"I'm sorry for everything," he murmured.

"Why are you upset, Stark?" I repeated.

He looked up at me again. "I'm upset because this is the second time Neferet did something to me that I had no control over. I'm upset because you said that you weren't sure about Neferet and I defended her."

Damien did a double take. "Wait... That was Neferet?"

Stark nodded. "Yeah. What did you think it was?"

"I.. Well, I don't know. But Neferet? I thought she was on our side. Why would she ... ?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. She's a freaking psychopath. We need to do something about her."

"If she's bad, how come she was burned by Kalona? And Zoey, how come you didn't get a bad feeling from Nyx about her when she told you she was on out side?" Erin said.

I thought about it. It made sense in one way, but in another way it didn't. "You're sure it was Neferet?" I asked Stark.

"I'm positive."

"How do you know?" Shaunee said.

"Because I got the same feeling as I did when I was a monster. She had some power over me then, and it's weakened now but it's still there."

"I asked you to stop calling yourself a monster," I murmured absent-mindedly.

"And I didn't make any promises," he said quietly.

I thought about it. The burning part could be easily explained - Kalona ordered that everyone who was against him would be burned. Wasn't it possible that Neferet was evil and against Kalona at the same time? But the only part I couldn't understand was of course how I got no clue from Nyx. If Neferet was evil, wouldn't she have let me know? I only made the right choices in the past because of her influence. Why should the most vital thing be the only exception?

"It doesn't make any sense!" I said, frustrated, as I sat down. I put my head in my hands and tried to think it all through.

I looked up when someone ran into the room. It was Erik.

"Erik? What is it?" Jack said, worried for his idol.

"Drew just called."

"Drew?" Stevie Rae's face lit up and I couldn't help but smirk despite everything that was happening - and the bad news Erik was most likely bearing.

He nodded impatiently. "Neferet's at the House of Night. She's killed a fledgling. Everyone's terrified and Drew thinks Zoey and Stevie Rae will be able to stop her."

"Why me?" Stevie Rae asked.

"Because you're a really powerful Red Vampyre."

"What about me?" Stark said.

Erik sneered at him. "Stevie Rae's the first ever Red vamp with an affinity for Earth. What can you offer?"

"I'm the second Red vamp with a gift for killing anyone with my mind and an arrow. I think I can help," Stark said dryly. I sighed inwardly. No matter what the circumstances, my guys would always fight. Wait, did I just think of Erik as 'my guy'? What the... Ugh.

Stark glanced nervously at me. He's probably picked up the tone of my emotional discomfort. Who wouldn't be worried? My emotions changed way too often, and not just because I was pregnant.

"I think we're all needed," I told Erik. "We'll need our circle as a source of power. Stark has a point, too. He could kill Neferet with his arrow, couldn't he? **(STOP that thought!)**She's not immortal like Kalona."

There was a pause. Had I just said something completely stupid and embarrassed myself? Did I need to read my Fledgling Handbook or something, as Damien had pointed out many times.

"Why didn't we think of that?" Darius said, breaking the silence.

"Okay, so we'll give that a try." I said, not waiting for Damien's confirmation. If Darius approved, Damien would. "I'll need Stevie Rae, Damien and the Twins for the circle. Darius, we'll need you for the brains of this operation. Erik, Aphrodite and Jack should stay here with Grandma."

"No!" Aphrodite and Jack said together, walking to their boyfriends.

I sighed. "Damien and Darius will be fine, you guys know that."

"I'll stay," Erik muttered.

I sighed loudly. "You guys definitely won't?" I asked my other two friends.

They shook their heads stubbornly. "Fine. Well, what are we waiting for? Neferet's already killed one fledgling. Who knows who'll be next?" I paused. "Who did she kill?" I asked Erik.

"Cassie," he said sadly.

Cassie was Becca's friend, the one who was in that drama competition that Erik won. And now she was dead. Wow, things happened really quickly.

"Come on," Stark said. "Let's go."

* * *

**I made it extra long. Because I'm just that nice.**

**So Nyx's chosen one told me that in Europe we get the cover for Burned with Zoey. But in America they get the bad one with Stevie Rae. This is terrible news. Even if we_ do _get the one with Zoey, if any cover has Stevie Rae on it it means she's starting to take over the series. This is not good. The Casts can't just gradually kick Zoey out and replace her with Stevie Rae, can they? That would just SUCK.**

**If you haven't seen this, go to the official House of Night website. It also hints that Stark might die. Yep, DIE. Please don't tell me I'm overreacting by screaming when I read it, because that's what my friends said. I don't think I'm overreacting. I think they don't realize how serious this is. If Stark dies in Burned, I will not read the next books unless he somehow comes back. So if he dies I'll be relying on you guys to tell me what happens in Stolen, okay?**

**Oh and before you ask the inevitable, no, I do NOT hate Stark, I just decided to make him angry and annoying in this chapter because I was bored. And I found him hot rather than annoying tbh, but since I was writing Zoey's POV, I had to say those things about him.**

**Okay?**

**Happy weekend =)**

**Haha! In the Spellcheck on FanFiction, one of the other options for Neferet is Neutered haha xP**


	7. Chapter 7

**I officially proclaim my love to you all xD**

**Just saying...**

**This chapter is really short (sorry) but I dedicate it to Nyx's chosen one, ArrowBoy'sGirl, vampluver19, 17forever1901, 8D Kayla 8D, and toni lynn. They are all so awesome xD Love you guys!!!**

**Oh and I'm gonna rant at a bad reviewer again after xD**

**And this one was actually joined FanFiction, so it was kinda stupid to review haha xx**

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**_**Zoey**_

There were no bags to pack, so we just left. I hugged Grandma quickly, not wanting a big scene or anything. Nothing would happen to her, right? It got kinda awkward with Erik after that.

"Um.. Thanks for .. you know, earlier." I mumbled.

"Don't mention it," he said quietly before closing my Grandma's door in our faces.

"Right," I said, taking a deep breath. "Let's go."

We went over to my Grandma's car and (somehow) fit everybody inside. Seriously, I don't have a clue how we all squeezed in - especially with Darius - but he drove, and we managed. That is, Aphrodite sat in the passenger seat next to him, Jack sat on Damien's lap, Erin on Shaunee's, and Stark smirked, gesturing to his. I rolled my eyes and sat tentatively, willing spirit to make me lighter. Stevie Rae squeezed in between us and the Twins.

So yeah, the journey to the House of Night was far from comfortable. But Darius (thankfully) drove quickly and we arrived soon enough.

When we did, we were all speechless. The House of Night looked exactly how we _didn't _imagine it - normal. The last time we'd seen it it wasn't exactly at its best, what with Dragon grieving for Anastasia, the fires, the dead Raven Mockers and absolutely no students around. Another thing that was totally scary was the fact that there were no cats around - there were _always _cats at the House of Night.

And that was the only thing that made it not normal when we got out of the car. There were no cats.

"I hope the animals are okay," Jack whispered as if reading my mind.

"Come on," I said.

"Where?" Damien muttered.

"I dunno ... What about the infirmary? Will we check up on the kids there first?"

"Yes, they might need the strength of the circle again," Darius agreed.

So we started to walk to the infirmary, but it was really scary. The fledglings we passed still reminded me of _Invasion of The Body Snatchers, _and I couldn't help but smirk at the Twins, who snickered at the passing kids.

We remained on our guard for Neferet, too. Where the hell was she? Had she killed any more fledglings? It was terrifying. None of us spoke.

When we got to the infirmary, it was empty and all the beds were made.

"That must be good," I murmured. "The fledglings must be better."

Or at least that's what I tried to convince myself. I didn't want to consider the alternative.

Instinctively I looked towards the door. It was slightly open, and a crack of light penetrated through, even though it was 12 a.m. The tongue of light seemed to lick hungrily at the darkness in the room, as if waiting to swallow it whole.

And suddenly, without any warning, the door slammed shut, making me jump. I looked around nervously to see everyone's face mirroring my own. I looked around to see if there was any change in the room - I could sense there was - and it took me forever to find it. But when I did, a small, scared cry escaped me.

"Where's Stark?" I whispered.

* * *

**Yep, this is really really short. But don't say I didn't warn you xD**

**Alright, so the idiotic 'bookluvver' sent me a bad review, yet again telling me Zoey slept with Loren MONTHS ago. And also had the cheek to tell me I suck at writing. Oh, and apparently I have to reread the House of Night books. **

**Sooo.. I'm NOT repeating how it has not been months since Zoey slept with Loren. I already said that, so go find it and see how WRONG YOU ARE.**

**Again, if I suck at writing, how come I have 925 reviews for everything I wrote for the House of Night? **

**BUT I was DELIGHTED when I saw that bookluvver was JOINED FANFICTION!! I mean, how stupid could you be to send a bad review when you have an account? So I was really really happy and sent bookluvver a PM.... Haha I'm actually happy now and no, I'm not a skitso.**

**OMG sorry I just thought of something there... You guys HAVE to see Donnie Darko if you haven't seen it yet. It's an awesome movie (15s, I think) about the coolest skitso ever. So go watch that xD**

**And bookluvver, please write back... I want to see what you have to say xD I told you in my PM I was gonna write about you here so you should be prepared. Loser xP**

**AND I might take a while to update again coz I have a tiny bit of a block but sure I'll get over it soon and write more okay? xD**

**Gonna go see Valentine's Day now.. Looks awesome =) I love Taylor Swift xD**

**HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay so before I start, 'Laura', whenever I get annoyed with someone and post a note instead of a chapter (which I've only done twice) I always post a chapter really soon after to make up for it. Sorry, I know you're trying to be supportive or whatever, but that's not 'just life', okay?**

**Gotta thank Carly Tenibad, Super Oreo Man and Selene Daughter of Nyx. These guys are AWESOME, supportive and hilarious. xD**

**And two anonymous peeps reviewed Burned and just copied and pasted random parts of Chapter One.. What's the point of that?**

**KwopKilawtley, you are THE best. This girl reviewed EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER. Awesomeness!**

**Sorry I took so long, after a conversation with Nyx'sChosenOne I came to the conclusion that I know absolutely nothing about what I've written, so I decided to read Burned again. And I got bored so I'm only on Chapter 24 but I decided to upload anyway because I've made you guys wait AGES.**

**

* * *

**

_**Zoey**_

"Where's Stark?" I said again.

Everybody else looked around, confused.

"He was definitely here when we came in..." Darius started.

"He was standing right next to me," I added.

"He must have just gone out. Maybe he saw Neferet or someone," Damien said reassuringly, walking towards the door. He pulled on the handle, but it wouldn't budge.

"Umm.. Guys?" he said. "The door's locked."

"Move over," Aphrodite said, pushing him out of the way. "You're just too weak." She yanked at the handle but it still wouldn't open.

"Noo," I moaned, sliding down against the wall so I was sitting on the ground. "This can't be happening. We need to go find Neferet!"

Darius was now trying to open it, without success. And if Darius couldn't open it, we were definitely stuck here.

"Well, this is convenient," Aphrodite said, sitting on one of the beds.

"Darius, is there definitely no way out?" I asked.

He walked to the windows (although we were on the third floor) and pulled them. "No," he said, shaking his head.

"Z?" Stevie Rae murmured.

"Yeah?"

"Those windows have no curtains."

Damn. She was right. It was still night, but we only had a few hours to get out of here before Stevie Rae burned. Again. And where the hell was Stark? I hoped he was inside, anyway.

"We've gotta get out, Z."

"Yeah, if Stevie Rae - "

"I know!" I shouted. "Just.. just leave me think, okay?"

The Twins nodded.

We were stuck in the infirmary. We had five, maybe six hours until the sun came up and Stevie Rae burned to death. Stark was missing, and I didn't think he had gone himself. The Stevie Rae problem and the Stark problem were probably the most important. I had to figure out a way to solve them.

Then it came to me - how to solve the Stark problem, anyway. Given, Stevie Rae's one was most important, but if it worked it would take something off my mind, anyway.

When A-ya was trying to take control of my body and I was with Kalona, trying to talk to the Council, I had felt emotions that were, without a doubt, not my own. I had guessed they were Stark's, but with everything else going on, I had forgotten to ask him about it.

So I searched to see if I could sense _anyone's _emotions. It took me ages, and whenever anyone tried to interrupt my concentration with a question, I held up a finger, and soon enough they copped on that I was trying to do something.

Suddenly they hit me - and they were not at all what I had expected. Peacefulness, happiness, relaxation.. That idiot was making us worried for nothing! But why the hell had he gone off?

"Stark's fine," I told my friends.

"How do you know?" Jack asked, worried.

"I can sorta feel his emotions. I think."

"Well, that's a relief," Damien smiled. "But what about Stevie Rae? And how do we get out of here?"

"I don't know, but we don't have that much time. We've gotta think of something. Quick."

That shut them all up.

* * *

_**Stark**_

He noticed Zoey look towards the door just after he left, but he didn't think she saw him.

As his legs continued to walk towards Nyx only knew where, his mind slowly started fading. This was a familiar feeling...

His legs were still walking...

And he was in a meadow. To his right, there was a river. The water shimmered in the sun. The sun? Stark covered his face and ran under a nearby tree. But he wasn't burned. Why was that?

"Stark?"

He looked around, but couldn't see where the voice had come from. It was annoyingly familiar, though.

"Stark, is that you?"

He looked up again and Heath was standing there in front of him.

"Heath?"

"What are you doing here?!"

"I'm... I don't know.. Heath, I thought you were dead. No offense."

"None taken. And I am. So.... are you?"

"No ... I don't think I am, anyway."

"Damn, this'll kill Zoey!"

Heath looked around. "Shouldn't your goddess or whatever be appearing or something?"

"Huh?"

"That's what she did when Zoey came. I dunno... How did you die?"

"I didn't! We were at the House of Night, and I walked out of the infirmary. I don't know why I did, though. Something just told me I had to. Then my mind was kinda fading, then I was here."

"Dude, if you didn't die, you've gotta go back."

"How do you know?"

"Common sense. Stark, you've gotta think. Did something else happen before you came?"

Stark looked around, taking in the meadow. He was definitely not on Earth. There couldn't be a meadow this beautiful on Earth. So that meant he must be dead. But .. how?

When he looked back up at Heath again, someone else was standing next to him. Was that... Will?

"Will," Stark said, his voice breaking and tears filling his eyes.

Will smiled. "Hey, Stark. What are you doing here?"

"I don't know. I didn't die, but... Will, I'm so sorry for what happened, I - "

Will put up a hand to silence him. "Don't worry about it. It was a mistake. I should have realized you had a gift. You never missed." He smiled.

Stark couldn't help but smile back. But then he felt a strange internal tug, and somehow he knew that he would be gone soon.

"Will ... "

"I know, you're going. But Stark, I've been watching. I think I know what's happening. I'm not sure, but I think I do. And if I'm right, you'll be back again."

"How do you know? I thought - "

"Stark. I can't tell you now, it'll take too long. Just remember, when you return to your body, to stay calm. I know you can lose your temper quickly sometimes. But don't. And if you get back to your friends, tell the other Red Vampyre that the same thing might happen to her, too."

"What? What do you mean? _What _might happen to her?"

"This. The coming to the Otherworld thing."

"This is the Otherworld?"

Will nodded patiently. "Just warn them, Stark, if you can get to them."

"If?" Stark was beginning to get annoyed.

"Yes. If. I can't explain right now, Stark, but just remember what I said about keeping calm. And I might see you here again. Soon."

Stark swallowed loudly, then nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Will. I hope I see you soon. Bye, Will. Bye, Heath."

"Good luck!" Was the last thing Stark heard Will shout before he faded away into the dark.

* * *

**Okay? I wrote a long one. Sorry if it's bad, which it probably is, but I've been here for nearly an hour. And I've got an awesome book that I want to finish, but I did this instead xD**

**I reposted this ... It was a perfect example of why you should check what you've written before you post it lol. I swear to God it was NOT centered when I posted it, but I always write it on FanFiction which was being gay yesterday and wouldn't let me centre Zoey and Stark's names, so I guess it went all weird after that and centered everything.. sorry.**

**Oh and I'm not a homophobe.. I have a gay friend. Lol.**


	9. Chapter 9

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**Heyy xD**

OMG.. Okay.. I had some great fun there reading the comment from 'anon.'

Dude.. You make no sense. If I thought I was embarrassing myself, I wouldn't have put this up here. In fact, that's actually the reason I never posted anything proper before, I was just disappointed (I'm sure I've said this before.. I hate repeating myself) because no one else had anything up here after Tempted. So if this is bull, how come you read it? Okay and I hate having to tell people things I thought were kinda clear, but here we go : I am not (NOT) an author. I do NOT write as a profession, I do NOT have any books published, which is _probably _why write on this website which is in fact called FanFiction.

**Oh, and when you said I had self esteem issues, or whatever way you put it, I could NOT stop laughing.. Hilarious. Honestly, if you knew me, you'd know that I have no self esteem issues whatsoever. Haha.. Still funny.**

**As I said in my last author's note, I do this rant thing so people will know that they can't say stuff like this and get away with it. Plus, I'm starting to get kinda suspicious about so many anonymous reviewers all saying the same things, all getting the same facts wrong... =/**

**And yes, I have read the books, many times, thank you very much =)**

**Should I really waste more time answering idiotic questions 'anon.' asked when I've answered them before? No, no I shouldn't.**

**So I guess we're gonna go on with the story, then.**

**I can NOT stop listening to Lucky You by Taylor Swift... It's awesome xDxD**

* * *

_**Stark**_

When he saw Will and Heath start to fade, Stark was worried at first. He hadn't even talked to Will properly, they had only briefly spoken about what Stark may have been doing in the Otherworld. And he still didn't know why he had been there. He didn't remember dying.

So, basically, he had probably just blown the time he had been given to talk with his best friend that he accidently killed. Great.

But Will had said that he had ideas about what was happening, and if he was right, Stark would end up in the Otherworld again. So that meant he could see Will again. Which was a good thing. Right?

Where the hell was he, anyway? Stark felt like he was floating in the middle of nowhere. He didn't feel intact with his body at all.

He blinked, and suddenly he was there again, caked in his own body. He was lying on the floor somewhere. He wasn't sure exactly where he was as he hadn't attended the school properly before he died, but he guessed it was somewhere in the House of Night.

He stood up, feeling lightheaded.

"Oh, Stark, you're awake. About time."

He looked up and saw Neferet standing in front of him.

"What ... what happened?" he said, putting a hand to his head.

She smiled, handing him a bag of blood. "You came to me like I asked, of course."

"But then how come ... why was I in ... " he trailed off, remembering just in time what Zoey told him about Neferet.

At least he hoped it was in time.

She leaned her head to the side, her smile freezing in place, as she tried to find in his mind **(yay, rhyming words xD) **what he had been about to say.

Thankfully, it didn't look like she found it.

"You were in what?" she asked, frowning.

"Oh, nothing," he said nonchalantly, sucking from the blood bag without realizing what he was doing.

Neferet didn't look satisfied, however. But she didn't press him; she knew better.

"So, where are my friends?" Stark asked, trying not to think how Neferet had killed Cassie, and how he wasn't supposed to know that she was still evil.

"Don't you remember? You locked them in the infirmary."

"No I didn't. Where are they?"

"In the infirmary, as I said."

"They can't be locked in. Darius can easily knock down a door, and Zoey could just use her elements to get them out of there - if it really came to that."

Neferet laughed piercingly. "No, I doubt they'll get out of there easily."

Stark tried his best not to look worried or bothered at all by Neferet's response. But it's really hard to not think about something when you're thinking about _not _thinking it. She didn't show any signs of knowing what he knew though, but still, she was a very good actor. If he didn't know any better, Stark would have trusted his life with her. Easily.

He drained all of the blood from the bag quickly. "So, umm, I should probably be getting back to the others..."

Neferet laughed. "Oh no, Stark, you're not leaving yet."

"I'm not?"

"Oh, no. I have so much work for you to do!"

And as she said that, Stark slowly felt his mind start to drift away from his body, and he smiled. He knew what was going to happen this time - he would get to see Will and Heath again. And hopefully come back not feeling so confused.

* * *

_**Neferet**_

Neferet laughed to herself as Stark collapsed for a second time. She opened another blood bag for herself and waited. Soon enough, Stark stood up - well, his body stood up. But it wasn't him.

"Neferet," Kalona greeted her coldly. It was strange to hear him speak in Stark's voice.

"Hello, Kalona," Neferet replied, crumpling up the now empty blood bag and throwing it on the ground.

"Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to talk to you about what you did earlier." Kalona said, brushing himself off.

"Yes. How unfortunate."

"So would you care to tell me why you decided to abandon me?" His face remained friendly, but his voice was frozen.

"Kalona, my love, I never abandoned you."

"I'd appreciate a proper explanation instead of running around in endless circles of lies, Neferet."

She sighed. "Fine, fine. It was just Zoey, that's all."

"What about her?"

"Oh, you know, how she was hanging off your arm the whole time."

"Oh, Neferet," he said, cupping her cheek with Stark's hand. Suddenly both his hands were on either side of her face. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't break your neck right now. You betrayed me. Don't deny it."

Neferet, however, remained calm. "Because I know what wrong I have done and I have decided to return to your superior side. Also, I have already taken the liberty of trapping Zoey and her friends in the infirmary."

His hands left her face immediately. "Perfect. Welcome back, Neferet, and if you prove to be the traitor I thought you were, the price to pay will not be cheap."

Neferet smirked back, trying to look like she was all over him like she used to be. But inside, she was disgusted. Inside, she knew she would never, ever be on his 'superior side'.

* * *

**Whaddaya think? Not including author's notes, I'd say this chapter is about 1,000 words. I would write more about Stark in the Otherworld, but it's 23:40 and apparently I've to clean my room and get a head start on my homework tomorrow before I go - which isn't til like half four! **

**Ugh. Annoying...**

**Okay I am now ordering you guys to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Okay? Then write to me and tell me how much you loved them =D Especially The Book Thief, I'm re-reading it at the moment.**

**Peace out =D**


	10. Chapter 10

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**FINALLY. An anonymous reviewer that leaves bad reviews BUT is stupid enough to come back - yes, 'anon.', I'm talking about you. This idiot I ranted about actually CAME BACK! I was like YESSSSSSSSSSS so I get to do this, but I'm actually not going to bother saying anything this time. I'd feel bad if I said something back to 'anon.', because she (hopefully a she, anyway, if it's a guy that just makes it even more pathetic, if that's possible) obviously has absolutely no social life if all she has to do with her weekend is come back to see if someone replied to a comment they left on a story they didn't like BECAUSE of their non-existant social life in the first place. HA.**

**And OMG, I love you all (besides anon., obvs) but I've GOTTA say thanks to JenniferAnn B, she is sooo awesome. Thanks so much, your review made me smile =)**

**And thanks to ArrowBoy'sGirl for updating =D**

* * *

**_Stark_**

When Stark opened his eyes again, he was not surprised to find himself in the Otherworld. Again.

Heath was standing in front of him. "Hey, Stark. What happened?"

"Neferet," was all he said before asking, "Where's Will?"

Heath shrugged.

"Here, Stark," Will called from over by the river. Stark got up and went over to him. Will threw a pebble into the rushing water.

"Will, what's going on? Do you know why this keeps happening to me?"

Will nodded, not meeting Stark's eyes. "Stark.. I hoped I was wrong.. I hoped I wouldn't see you here again, although I want to.. But I think I'm right."

Stark was confused. "What? Can't you just tell me what you think is happening?"

Will blew out a long breath, then threw another pebble. "Alright," he said, looking at Stark for the first time. "This is what I think is happening. I've been watching. I'm sorry about what happened after I died - it wasn't your fault."

Stark snorted. Will ignored him.

"I'm sorry that you died, too. But at least you got a second chance, even if it did come at a price."

"What price? That I had to struggle for my humanity again? That I can't go out in the sun? That I have a real craving for blood - human blood?"

Will patiently waited for him to finish. "I suppose, yes. But there is another price, and you know what it is."

"What is it?"

"Neferet. She is the one who resurrected you, and for the first few days she had almost complete control over you. You were a completely different person, that's what scared me the most, I think. But you beat her, you found your humanity again, you - "

"So why do I have to worry about her?"

Will sighed. "Just listen, would you? She resurrected you, so she has some sort of control over you - not a lot. But some. It's completely understandable, but it's dangerous. Stark, believe me when I say she is not good again. She never was and never will be."

"So Zoey was right?"

"About most of it. What she was wrong about was that Neferet is still evil, but she is not with Kalona anymore."

"What?! How do you know?"

"I told you, I've been watching carefully, ever since you moved to Tulsa. But Kalona doesn't know she's not on his side."

"Wait, where's Kalona?"

"He is, once again, trapped. By earth. Zoey has a choice, she can free him to try and defeat him, or she can just leave him there for another couple of hundred years for someone else to take care of."

"Okay, I'll let her know," Stark murmured, staring at the waterfall.

"No, Stark, listen to me, okay? Neferet has them trapped in the infirmary. There's no way out."

"That's not gonna work. Zoey and Darius are there, they can bust the door down. Or go through the windows."

"Yeah, you'd think so. But she has some kind of spell on the room, I think. So they can't get out until she lifts the spell."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So do you know what's happening while you're here?"

"No, how would I know?"

"While you're here, Neferet is allowing Kalona to use your empty body. He thinks she's on his side again. I have no idea what her twisted plan is, but I'm guessing it's not good. Oh, and don't consume anything she gives you, okay?"

"Why?"

"Just don't!" Will was clearly starting to panic now, trying to make sure Stark understood.

"Does Neferet know I'm here?"

"No."

"Why _am _I here, Will?"

"Your mind is dead when it's not in your body. At least that's what I can gather from it."

Stark didn't have time to reply before he was again caked in his own body.

* * *

**I know, right? It looks like I actually know where this is going. Buttt I don't xD I never do lol, I just write anything for each chapter.. Luckily Burned came together and seemed to work alright, so let's hope this does too =)**

**And sorry for the shortness... Apparently half ten on a Sunday night is too late to be on the computer. Especially when I've got homework left.. I think. Whoopsies xD**

**ILY**


	11. Chapter 11

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**I wasn't planning on updating today, but I just read the reviews and after I saw the review from MarianelaX92, I felt that I had to. I don't think she's making it up, it would be really horrible of someone to do that. So this chapter is dedicated to her friend...**

**Anyone read The Book Thief or the Chaos Walking series yet? I was speeding through the second book in the CW series, thinking the third was already out... But turns out it's not out til May, which is kind of annoying. **

**I don't really want to point out how stupid 'anon.' is while I'm dedicating this chapter to someone that actually matters, so I'll leave that part til the end, okay?**

* * *

_**Zoey**_

There was no way out of the infirmary. We knew that much.

We also knew that there were no curtains and there were only a few short hours til the sun came up, burning Stevie Rae alive.

Oh, and Stark was gone. And Neferet was on the loose.

Not to mention I was pregnant, so stress probably wasn't the best thing for me, was it?

So what the hell were we supposed to do? Not even Damien had an idea. We couldn't figure out why we couldn't open the door, what with Darius's strength and our circle, but we were giving an educated guess that Neferet had something to do with it.

So we were sitting in the infirmary, not talking, just sitting and thinking.

* * *

_**Stark**_

Neferet was standing over him when he woke up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted at her.

"What do you mean?" she replied, feigning innocence.

"Stop using my body, stop bringing Kalona back and let my friends out!" he roared, standing up.

"Calm down, Stark. I'm not using your body."

Instead of shouting at her again like he wanted to, Stark took a deep breath to center himself.

Neferet smiled. "Are you thirsty? I have some fresh blood if you ... " she trailed off.

As she said it, Stark realized that he was, in fact, desperate for some blood. More than he usually was. But he remembered what Will said about not drinking anything she gave him, and had the strength to resist. "No."

For a split second, she looked a little thrown, like she had been expecting his throat to be burning for some blood. But she quickly composed herself, typically. "Are you sure? You must be thirsty ... ?"

Stark shook his head, and looked around. "Where am I, anyway?"

"At the Tulsa House of Night."

"Yeah, I know. But _where _in the Tulsa House of Night?"

"I don't think that's really relevant, Stark."

Sighing, Stark turned towards the open door and started to walk out. Neferet didn't attempt to stop him, but somehow she appeared in front of him, blocking his only exit.

"Neferet, let me go," he said, and his voice didn't waver.

She smiled, shaking her head. "Stark, I don't think you understand. You are not allowed leave this room. Okay?"

"No, it's not okay. I need to go, I have to talk to Zoey and the others."

"Needs are different from wants."

Stark just rolled his eyes. "Let me go," he said, trying to shove past her, but it didn't really work.

So he made the mistake of touching her to try and pull her out of his way. Neferet's eyes blazed, then she pushed him back with such force that he went flying and hit his head against the wall. Then everything went black.

* * *

_**Stevie Rae**_

Stevie Rae sat on one of the beds in the infirmary. No one talked. They all just sat there. It was really depressing.

Strangely, Stevie Rae wasn't as worried about the whole windows issue as the others seemed to be. Why the hell was that?

Stevie Rae looked closely at the others. Z was slouched against the wall, her head in her hands, staring at nothing in particular. The Twins were sitting next to each other, biting their nails. Damien was frowning, looking at the windows as if trying to figure out how to get out of the room. Darius was watching Aphrodite, who was asleep, and Jack was huddled next to Damien.

And Stevie Rae just sat there. Watching them, worrying but not as much as she probably should, and just waiting.

But waiting for what? Were they going to get out, or was she going to burn alive?

* * *

**Okay, it's Sunday night, I have homework and a test tomorrow so I'm not really in the mood to reply to 'anon.' However...**

**'anon.', the fact that you have to prove to me that you have (what you call) a social life proves your insecurity and how it more than likely doesn't exist. So I have got a social life. What do you think I was doing all weekend so I don't have my homework or studying done? I'm not leaving that for you to try and answer, so I'll tell you : I was at a sleepover, then in town, then at the cinema, then at another sleepover and I just got back now. Okay? **

**Some things you said here are really offensive. My dad isn't an alcoholic, but if he was then that's a personal thing that would have been hurtful to me. And why would you jump to that conclusion anyway? That shows something else about you, if that's one of the first things you think of...**

**Wow. You have SEVEN BFFs?!?! Wow you must feel so special! **

**I have nothing against men. Most of my friends are guys. And obviously you have something against lesbians, if you're throwing it around as an insult. I've got gay friends, too, and bisexual ones, so I'm kind of offended by that, though I'm straight. So if you're calling me judgmental about men, look at yourself in the mirror first.**

**No, I started this because there was nothing for after Tempted up here. And if everyone else on this site tells me to quit this fanfic, I still wouldn't because I've dealt with bullies in the past and it all came out for the best so I will not be bullied into anything, no matter how much I hate this myself, I will keep writing it because it's something I started and I never stop something until I've finished it.**

**You are not able to walk all over me, and I'm not going to stop replying to these idiotic comments you leave. Please just make my life easier and join FanFiction. That way I can make sure you won't run away like all the other anon reviewers.**

**Thanks to all you awesome guys, especially Selene Daughter of Nyx, you're so awesome at replying to bad reviewers ;) ILY!! (No, anon, that does not make somebody a lesbian. It is showing human emotion. Sound familiar?)**

**And anon, loads of awesome people like Selene Daughter of Nyx, JenniferAnn B and bunch of other anon reviewers are copping onto you and making me smile so maybe you should read what some of my reviewers have to say to you.**

**Maybe, if you come back, I'll just post everything people say about you in my next author's note =) And, if you haven't come back by next weekend, maybe I'll just put them all in anyway =)**


	12. Chapter 12

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Selene Daughter of Nyx, you were right! Yeah, 'anon.' finally looked like she was going to be mature and admit she was wrong. But for some unknown reason, most likely in connection with that social life she's deprived of, she came back. The only thing you were wrong about, she wasn't smart enough to use a different name. Lol.

**This chapter is dedicated to MarianelaX92 and her friend again.**

**It's also dedicated to my best friend who passed away last year.**

**jonfoxlvr: If you really did like this and trusted me with where I was going, you would have kept reading like all the other epic peeps who didn't like the pregnancy thing. Damn, I even hate it. Lol.**

**There are way too many people to thank, but they're mainly the people that PM me a lot, you guys are so so awesome, you know who you are =) Especially 17forever1901.**

**There You'll Be - such a great song. And for a strange combo, the other song I can't stop listening to it Teenagers.**

**An addition to the books I have ordered you to read: The Hunger Games. AND DON'T be stupid like me - you'd think I'd have learned from when I sped through the second Chaos Walking book when there was no third one out. But I did it again with the HG, I finished the second one this morning and I hate myself again. And you guys still have to read The Book Thief. The amount of fanfics for that is too low. How it went from 77 last week to 71 today I have no idea...**

* * *

**Neferet**

Stark lay in a crumpled heap on the ground by the hard stone wall. Neferet smiled and walked over to him, making sure he wasn't conscious. When she knew he definitely wasn't, she took out another bag of the blood and emptied it into his mouth. A few minutes later, she checked his pupils to be sure that his body was free for Kalona and Stark was gone to wherever he went when she did this - if he was even still in existence.

It only took Kalona a few short minutes to seize the opportunity and occupy Stark's empty body. Neferet smirked as the body slowly regained consciousness, and Kalona was there.

He regarded her briefly. "Neferet," he said, nodding.

She nodded back silently, trying to stifle an evil laugh at the fact that he still thought she was worshipping him.

It seemed to work, anyway. He smirked, satisfied. Then he asked something she would never have expected him to ask after what had happened recently.

"Where's Zoey?"

"Zoey?" Why did he not insist on calling her A-ya, like he usually did? Neferet felt a quick (really quick) pang of jealousy of the girl locked in the infirmary, but it went away soon enough when she remembered that she no longer loved Kalona.

"Yes, my Zoey. Where is she?" His eyes narrowed as he spoke, obviously suspecting Neferet had done something not so nice to 'his' Zoey.

Neferet's own eyes narrowed in response. "Why do you think I know?"

He let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Neferet, do not play games with me. Where is she?"

Neferet just smiled in superiority.

"Neferet, you know what I can do to you if you refuse to tell me." His (well, Stark's) eyes turned dark, as did his other features, when he threatened her.

"No, I don't," she replied innocently.

Enraged, Kalona attempted to grab her throat and fling her to the wall where she had flung Stark only minutes before. Unfortunately for him, he forgot that the body he was in was not as strong as the one he was accustomed to.

Neferet side stepped and before he knew it he was the one being held against the wall by his throat, Neferet's face very near his. His body was mortal, so he couldn't breathe.

"I think you'll find that I have the upper hand, Kalona," she hissed.

He didn't reply. He couldn't reply. Even if he could, he probably wouldn't have, because she was right and he was wrong and he knew it. After a few more seconds of torturing him, Neferet let him drop.

Kalona stood up, rubbing his neck. He wasn't used to getting hurt like this, but he was in a mortal's body. "Just - " he broke off to rub his throat again, and cough. Neferet couldn't hide her smile of satisfaction. "Just please tell me where Zoey is."

Neferet shrugged.

And she definitely didn't expect what happened next. Kalona grabbed her by her neck like he had tried to before she stopped him and although she assumed she could easily fight him off, she was wrong. Because somehow she ended up cracking her head against the wall and then she was knocked out.

* * *

**Kalona**

Kalona smiled, satisfied. That would teach her to assume she had 'the upper hand'. That woman had some serious issues. However, she was the last thing on his mind right now. Because all he could think about was Zoey. He had actually forgotten about A-ya. He had obsessed over her for centuries, and suddenly he was over her. **(Sounds kinda like my Edward Cullen obsession, if you change centuries to months xD)**.

Then Kalona frowned. He realized that he didn't know where Zoey was. Neferet obviously had her trapped - but where? It would probably take a while to find her - this House of Night was huge. Hopefully he would have enough time in Stark's body to get to her.

* * *

**Zoey**

The silence was getting a bit depressing, to be honest. No one had anything to say. So we just sat there in our silence and stayed silent.

Damien was the first to speak. "You know, I'm kinda worried about Stark."

I shrugged. "He knows how to take care of himself."

Now that we had a subject, the mood was lightened a little.

"Yeah, but what if Neferet got to him? Remember how she had this control over him..?" Trust Aphrodite to think of the worst scenario. I was glad we had something to talk about, but I'd rather be mildly depressed from the silence than majorly depressed from the silence plus the thought of Neferet getting to Stark.

"Well, he knows how to take care of himself," I said again, starting to get kinda annoyed now. Though she did have a point ... Ugh, this was exactly what I was trying to avoid... Great.

So we were sitting in silence again, but now I was worried about Stark, too. And that was when we heard that horribly seductive voice of Heath's murderer outside the door.

"Zoey? Are you in there?"

I should have known that Kalona would have something to do with this! Well, I was going to kill him this time. For sure. I'd seen him kill Heath, he couldn't deny it. So I won't let him distract me this time. It's because of that stupid mistake that Heath had died - my idiotic mistake. No one else I love will die because of me and Kalona this time. Because I loved Heath more than any one else, and Kalona crossed the line by killing him. Now I meant war.

___

* * *

_

**Short? Totally. But it's a wonder I actually updated, I know I'm getting really really bad and I get sooo annoyed when people don't update for ages so I understand.**

**Is it bad that I'm starting to like Kalona? Because in the first chapter of Burned he's really nice, compared to how he was in Tempted, and now I'm annoyed at myself.**

**Read Queen of Darkness by zoey-starkforever. It's in the HoN section, but it's a story she made up herself. I know, I promised so many people I'd read their fanfics and never got around to it. So if you asked me and I said I would but you didn't get any reviews from me, tell me because I'll probably forget otherwise. Sorry, I'm so behind on like everything.**

**I'll make the next chapter longer, I promise! As I said, I have a general plot but I need to sort a few things out.. However, I'll probably get them sorted soon and then (hopefully) I can update as fast as I did with Burned.**

**Oh, and if I make this as long as Burned, do you think we could get to 1,000 reviews? Burned had 33 chapters and 688 reviews. Stolen has 11 chapters (I'm not including ANs) and 543 reviews. AND when I finished Burned, there wasn't even 500 reviews, 'cause remember when there was 499 I asked you guys to make 500?**

**Annnnyyyway... Happy Easter xD**

**~TOB**


	13. Chapter 13

Hatersluvme: No offense, but no, I don't believe you have an affinity for air. Or that Kalona is haunting you, being as he is a fictional character. Glad you like my fanfics though =)

**As always, this is dedicated to my best friend (R.I.P) but this one is also for Beth-Ann Koyle - happy birthday! =)**

**Okay, I need to know something important because depending on your answers, I might have to change the whole plot of this. So here's the question: Do you guys like Stevie Rae? I mean do you love her or seriously hate her like I do and wish Stark's arrow killed her in Untamed? Please let me know, it's really important.**

* * *

**_Zoey_**

Kalona kept knocking on the door. It was getting seriously annoying. Even if I wasn't really mad at him for killing Heath, I would be getting angry with this.

How the hell did he make me believe him?! He seemed so distraught in my dream when he showed me how he used to be Nyx's Warrior. It was like he meant it, like he was genuinely sad and wanted to be good again. And I was stupid enough to think he was telling the truth, this cold blooded immortal who was an expert at lying to all the fledglings and vamps who thought they loved him. I believed him, at the expense of Heath's life.

"Zoey! Please!" Kalona was getting desperate. But the door wasn't opening - even if I'd wanted to I wouldn't be able to let him in. I guessed that Neferet had done something to it.

We all remained quiet. It wasn't really out of fright, as such. It was more to do with hating Kalona with a passion. I looked at Damien and found him looking back at me. We both smiled and looked away. We didn't want to look at each other for long in case one of us would laugh, despite the situation.

As suddenly as it had started, though, the banging stopped. We heard footsteps fading and we all looked up at the same time. That was when I realized that I had been holding my breath.

Still, none of us talked. Darius looked worriedly at Aphrodite. Damien squeezed Jack's hand. Other than that, no one communicated, though.

A few minutes later, the footsteps returned. We could hear some mumbled words, but I for one couldn't make any sense of them. Then, the door handle was pushed down from the outside.

After that, it was quite like a horror movie. It was the slow motion part where you know something terrible is going to happen, but the idiotic people can't see it **(If people in movies listened to me, they'd still be alive. Just saying.)**.

The door handle was pushed down, and the door actually opened. I got ready to fling myself at the person I hated more than anyone else in the whole world. The door was open wide and I jumped right at - Stark?!

So Kalona hadn't come back. He'd left and Stark came back and let us out. Well, that was a relief. Looked like Stevie Rae wouldn't be frying.

I was so shocked that I just hugged Stark tightly, never wanting to let go of my Warrior. He hugged me back and Jack laughed nervously. "I thought you were Kalona," he said.

Stark pulled back and I saw the triumphant looking glow in his eyes replaced with confusion, and then realization. It happened so quickly that I don't think anybody else even noticed. Looking back, I know I should have said something then to the others. When Stark had died and Neferet looked happy for a quick second while everyone else was looking at his body, I didn't tell any of my friends about how I saw her look so pleased until it was too late, and it hadn't turned out so pretty after that. So yeah, I was stupid not to tell my friends about Stark's weird emotions.

Stark coughed and nodded, smiling tightly. I frowned. "Did you find Neferet?" I asked.

Stark nodded again. "Okay, so why are you not talking?" I asked, getting frustrated now.

He let out a long breath. "Neferet's this way," he said, walking away and indicating that I follow him.

But I didn't. I couldn't. Because it wasn't Stark's voice. It was Kalona's.

* * *

_**Neferet**_

Neferet woke up with a massive headache, and she was feeling confused. But she remembered what had happened quite fast. Kalona was gone. He was probably gone after Zoey and her friends. Which meant she had some mroe work to do.

She grumbled to herself as she got up slowly. Having a huge headache is not the nicest feeling in the world.

First Neferet ran to the infirmary and she had been right about where Kalona had gone - the door was open. And the infirmary was empty. Great. Just great.

Then Neferet stopped. She could stop Kalona, but it would be awkward if he was with Zoey. She had control over Stark, and could make him leave and let anyone come in whenever she wanted - though admittedly, Kalona's strength had surprised her. She didn't expect him to have that much power when he was in a mortal's body, but she had been wrong.

It was too late now, though. So what if he was with Zoey? It didn't really matter to her anymore if Stark went back to them, just as long as Kalona was gone. She could get Stark back to her later, though it would be considerably harder than before. But she couldn't risk Kalona being with Zoey and her friends. Neferet wanted them, so did he, and since they weren't going to work together she needed him to be gone so she could have the advantage.

So Neferet closed her eyes and a few minutes later, she was sure that if she ran into Stark now, Kalona wouldn't be in his body anymore.

* * *

_**Zoey**_

"What are you waiting for?" said Stark / Kalona. "Neferet is this way."

"What are you doing?" Darius asked. "You have no right to possess this boy's body."

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he tried to remain innocent. "Just come on!"

I'd had about enough of Kalona. He had convinced me he could choose good if he was with me, not Neferet. Shortly after, he killed my consort in front of me. And now, like Darius had said, he was possessing my Warrior's body. It was just too much.

I don't even know how I thought I could hurt him, but at that moment, for some reason, I thought that I could. Or maybe I just wasn't thinking at all - that seems more likely. But anyway, I decided to punch him. He was an immortal, it probably wouldn't even hurt him. But at that moment all I knew was that because of him, Heath was gone and never coming back. Stark was gone, and I wasn't sure if he was coming back.

I ran at him, and just a fraction of a second before I hit him, I heard him say, "Damn, Zoey, watch it!"

I stopped quickly, and his eyes showed confusion and worry. But what had made me stop was the fact that the voice belonged to Stark, not Kalona.

* * *

**I know... It was bad... But happy birthday to Beth-Ann Koyle, her birthday's Monday! =)=)**

**Oh, and seriously think about that question, okay? Thanks xD**


	14. Chapter 14

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**Yeah, so I got WAY too many mixed answers for that Stevie Rae question. Half of them are all, 'I love her, she's so sweet, etc' and the other are all 'I hate her, I want her to die'. I agree with the second half. **

**I started this for myself but now I'm doing it for you guys too so I'm gonna listen to you. Even if that means I have to change like the entire plot but I really hate when you find a fanfic you like and the author gets all dumb and ruins it so how about this question: If I killed Stevie Rae BUT still kept her in the story through the Otherworld, would that be suckish for you guys or do you just not give a damn and want me to shut up and start updating quicker?**

**Because I can't update quicker til you answer, so make sure you do =)**

**On the other hand, thanks so so much for all the reviews, I seriously appreciate it. I LOVE you guys xD**

**This is the last thing, I promise: Please answer these questions - 1. Are you really, REALLY against me killing Stevie Rae but keeping her in through the Otherworld or do you want me to hurry up with it? 2. It's like 6 days til Burned comes out... Are you guys gonna keep reading this too? Please just answer honestly =) 3. Should I just update once a week, because sometimes I update more than that but other times I take even longer. If I update like every weekend, I'll have the whole week to write so should I try and do that?**

**Oh, and since FanFiction hates me and stuff and keeps screwing up when I try to type anything (Look at my profile, it messed it all up) I'm only gonna write whose POV it's in when it's not Zoey's. Then it won't screw up as much so I don't have to keep copying and pasting and all that junk.**

* * *

"Zoey, what are you doing?!" Stark sounded really upset. Me? I was just really, really confused.

"What are _you_doing?" Aphrodite yelled back. "You were Kalona!"

"_Kalona?! _Zoey, what the hell is going on?"

"We were locked in the infirmary and you were gone, Stevie Rae was gonna burn because there were no curtains on the windows and then the door opened and you were there, except when you talked your voice was exactly like Kalona's." I explained calmly and matter-of-factly. It was one of those moments that are just so overwhelming and you're so confused about, well, everything that you just act completely normal.

"Yeah, so then Zoey was gonna punch you," Damien said, almost as calm as I was.

"And she should have," Aphrodite muttered.

"He is not Kalona anymore," Darius reassured her, stroking her arm.

"So do you want to explain what happened or what?" Shaunee asked Stark. We all followed her gaze and I noticed that Stark's face had gone really pale. He looked like he was about to get sick.

"I know what's happening," he whispered.

"Well?" Aphrodite prompted him.

"Look, I was right about Neferet having control over me. Even though I completed the Change and chose my humanity and all that, because she's the one who resurrected me she can still attempt to control me and she still has some power over me." He paused to let us absorb this information. I'm pretty sure that at that time I was just totally unresponsive.

"Neferet has control over my body, not my mind. So she can allow people enter my body and banish me from it. When she does that, I go to the Otherworld." He paused again and looked at me, because he knew I'd respond to _that_. "Heath's fine," he said more quietly. I nodded and smiled briefly.

"I was talking to my friend Will, the one who was, um, killed in the Summer Games. He'd been watching everything and he told me that Neferet is doing this. She's bringing Kalona into my body and she can do it whenever she likes. It's because she's the one who resurrected me, she can control my body to an extent." He gave Stevie Rae a sharp glance. "She can probably do it to you, too. So Neferet's bringing Kalona into my body, and -"

"Stark?" Damien interrupted. "If you think that she can control Stevie Rae too, why didn't she just go to her first? I mean, no offense or anything, but she's got an affinity for Earth. Wouldn't Neferet go to her first?"

Stark shrugged. "Maybe at the time, I was weaker, or maybe my gift was just handier to her then." Then his eyes met mine. "She used to be able to control my mind, too. But after I made the choice for my humanity, she could only control my body."

What was he saying? That he had been lying to me before he Changed? I didn't think so. I think he was being honest when he told me that he was struggling with Kalona's evil. He had told me that he was not one of Neferet's minions, but she didn't know that. I think that was the truth.

"Where is Kalona when he is not inhabiting your body?" Darius asked.

"Will said something about him being trapped by earth again. Zoey has to either find him and finish him off or leave him there for somebody else to take care of when some idiot like Neferet releases him again."

Yeah, I really wanted to just leave Kalona - why was he my responsibility? But then again, he wasn't anyone's responsibility, and if I didn't take care of him maybe in the future neither would anyone else. I knew I had to do it. And it really annoyed me. But he killed Heath. I would have to kill him. Torture him, even. If I had it in me - I wasn't as coldblooded and blood thirsty as Kalona.

"Neferet has been bringing Kalona into your body. So what if she does it again, and none of us notice you're gone and Kalona's there?" Stevie Rae asked Stark.

"I'm not sure about this, but I _think _that Neferet can only get me out when I drink this blood she gives me - I had some right before I woke up in the Otherworld. And then Will told me not to consume anything she gives me. So I don't think you're gonna have that problem. And Zoey was right about Neferet not being with Kalona anymore. She's against him, but she's still evil."

"And can she bring anyone else into your body besides Kalona?" Damien asked.

I hadn't thought of that. And going by the look on Stark's face, I'm guessing he hadn't either. "I don't know," he said. "Will never told me, he just said Kalona."

We all looked to Darius, whose arm was protectively wrapped around Aphrodite. "It's possible," he mused. "But we shouldn't jump to any conclusions until we have a better idea of what's happening to Stark." There were a few murmurs of agreement. "Stark, I think you should go back to Neferet. It's - "

"What? No!" The words burst out kinda automatically.

"I agree with Zoey. It's too dangerous," Damien said.

"Please allow me to finish," Darius said. "Yes, it is dangerous. But if what the warrior says it true, Neferet will be looking for him soon. And let's be honest, she will find him eventually - she managed to get him away from us in the infirmary without us noticing until we were locked in."

"Glad you care about me so much," Stark muttered sarcastically. If Darius heard him, which he probably did, he ignored him.

"We need Stark to go back to her. Obviously Kalona will try to get away from her once he is in Stark's body. He probably will, and then he will most likely come to you, Zoey. We will observe him carefully so we can have a better understanding of what is going on. Stark might be able to find out more from his friend in the Otherworld, and we can exchange what we know when he returns."

Okay, I had to admit it was logical. But I still thought it was way too dangerous. "I don't know..." I said.

"No, it's okay," Stark said. "It's a good idea. It makes sense. I'll do it."

I looked at my friends. "What do you guys think?"

"It does make sense. But I really want to find out if she can do the same thing to me," Stevie Rae said. "I think he should do it."

"So do I," Aphrodite said.

The Twins nodded encouragingly, and Damien looked at me. "I know where you're coming from, Z. It's really, really dangerous. But if Stark is willing, I think he should go for it."

"No." Jack said. "It's a good plan, but it's stupid to take the risk when we do know _some_ things. It's not like we're totally lost. I don't think we should take such a huge risk."

So Jack and I were the only ones who weren't happy with the arrangement. But Damien was right. I knew that if Stark was willing to do it, he wouldn't let me stop him. Especially when we needed the key to defeating Kalona.

"Zoey, it'll be fine. I promise," Stark said, trapping my gaze with his. "Just trust me, okay?"

It was really hard for me to say, but yes, when it came down to it I did trust Stark. I nodded and he smiled back. "Thanks."

"But - " Jack started to protest.

"Jack, shut up," Erin said. "He wants to do it, so leave him do it. Okay?"

"Come on," Aphrodite said to Darius, but she was talking to everyone. "I think it's pretty obvious that Zoey wants to tell Stark what an idiot he is and whatever, so we should probably...."

"We still must look for Dragon and Lenobia," Darius added.

Damien gave me one more apologetic look and they left.

"Stark, please - " I began, but he cut me off.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"I was just locked in the infirmary. What happened to you?"

"I've told you what happened," he said simply.

"Please don't do this," I whispered.

"Z, I have to. It could help you get rid of Kalona."

"I know, but..."

He kissed me gently. "You worry too much. I've already been to the Otherworld. So have you. It can't be dangerous if I'm with Nyx. You should know that better than anyone else."

I knew that what he was saying was completely, undeniably true, but I'm a stubborn person, and I cared for him a lot. "I do know that. I just can't help but worry. I'm just a worrying type of person."

"You also talk a lot," he offered.

"Stark... If I can't change your mind, could you do something for me?"

"Anything." His loyalty and trust made my chest tighten at what I was about to ask him.

"Please, could you just tell Heath that I love him and I'm sorry?"

"Of course."

I didn't know if I should be happy or upset at the fact that he was so accustomed to me loving Heath.

* * *

**Don't forget to answer the three questions!**


	15. Chapter 15

****

**Yeah, I know that the next book is called Awakened.. PC Cast said that on her blog before Burned even came out. When I posted the names of the books that I found on fanpop or wherever I found them, I said that I wasn't sure if they were the real ones or not. So no, Stolen's not the real name of the next book. Okay?**

**Anyway, Burned is so awesome! I really did think it would be boring because the Stevie Rae parts in Tempted made me depressed, but her chapters actually weren't as bad in Burned! Rephaim's starting to grow on me, too. He's a nice guy xD Woah I just sounded really like my friend there...**

**If you haven't read Burned yet, you might not want to read this part of my AN, but if you have, seriously... Stark's SCOTTISH??? That's so hot!! **

**One more thing: This might make you really disappointed, but Awakened apparently doesn't come out til January 4th 2011. Eight whole months, doesn't that suck? And I probably won't be really fast updating like I was after Tempted came out because I'm still writing for my own boring story. Enjoy =)**

* * *

"Zoey, I have to go," Stark said reluctantly.

"I know," I said. "You don't have to do this, you know. You've already been to the Otherworld, you've already talked to Will. You don't have to go back to Neferet if you don't want to."

He smiled. "Well, no one in their right mind would actually _want _to go to Neferet. I don't want to, but I want to help you and your friends. I want to finish this thing with Kalona once and for all. So I have to go back."

I knew he wouldn't change his mind. If he did, he would see it as failing me because it could have helped defeat Kalona. And he had failed me once, and it had changed him. I knew there was no point trying to reason with him anymore.

"Fine," I said. "Be careful, okay?"

"And if I can't be careful, I'll be quick," he said, smiling as he repeated the words he said to me in the field house after he had Changed into the second ever red vampyre. He kissed me once more, squeezed my hand, and then he was gone.

After a few moments, I did what I had done after he Changed, too. I whispered a quick prayer to Nyx. Unfortunately I had to ask for his safety, again. "Nyx, please look after Stark," I whispered. "He wants to help me, and I know he will do whatever it takes to be sure he doesn't fail me again. But I don't want him to be hurt because of it. So please, if it comes to it, let him see sense instead of risking his life."

I felt a warm wave of comfort, and I knew that Nyx had heard me. "Thank you, Nyx," I said, then went to find my friends.

I found them in the girl's dorm. They were talking about how to find Kalona while watching _Criminal Minds_. They didn't look up when I entered.

As usual, they were sitting in groups of two: Jack and Damien, Darius and Aphrodite, Shaunee and Erin. Stevie Rae was on her own, so I sat by my BFF.

"Is Stark gone to Neferet?" Darius asked me.

"Yep," I said, feeling much more confident about this idea after Nyx's reassurement. "He just left now."

"Good," Jack said. "Hopefully he'll be back soon." I could see that he was really worried about Stark.

"Yeah, hopefully," I said, smiling. "So what's the plan?"

"Plan?" Aphrodite asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, after Stark goes to Neferet and the Otherworld and all that?"

"We wait and see if he gets any information. Then we see where we will go from there," Darius told me.

"Yeah, okay, that makes sense," I said. "Sorry, I'm just really tired." As I spoke the words, I realized how true they were. I hadn't slept properly for a long time.

"Maybe we should all go to sleep for a few hours," Damien said. "It's only a few hours til dawn."

I nodded. "Sleeping sounds good to me." I looked at Stevie Rae. "Are you gonna be my roommate again, or do you have to sleep underground?"

"Well I don't think there's anywhere underground for me to go, so I guess I'm sleeping with you, Z," Stevie Rae said, smiling widely.

"Eew," Aphrodite muttered, but a sharp glance from me stopped her from making any other comment.

"Come on," she said to Darius, smirking. "Let's go."

That caused the Twins to make gagging noises, and Aphrodite actually ignored them, disappearing with Darius.

"You coming, Z?" Stevie Rae said, and we went up to our room.

The second I opened the door, a huge orange ball of fur hurled itself at me. Instinctively, I caught it and Nala immediately complained at me. I knew she was really pissed about us leaving, but she still snuggled up against me. I hugged her back, kissing her wet nose.

Stevie Rae laughed. "I thought Nala was one to hold a grudge. I didn't expect this."

"Yeah, well maybe she knows that I kinda died and stuff, and she's too busy feeling sorry for me to remember her grudge."

"Maybe," Stevie Rae said, patting Nala's head.

I put my cat on my bed as I climbed in, suddenly too tired to be bothered changing. I swear I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

* * *

_**Stark**_

After he left Zoey, Stark kinda wandered around aimlessly for a while. He didn't have a clue where Neferet was. He knew that when he was with her, they were in some sort of dungeon. The only problem was he didn't have a clue where that dungeon was. Kalona was in his body when he wandered out, so Stark had no idea where he came from. So he just walked around.

Stark hated to think of Kalona being in his body. It was just so gross. Kalona was there, using his body to trick Zoey. It wasn't right. It went against everything. It shouldn't have been possible. But Stark was learning the hard way that things that should be impossible were often just the opposite.

He was just after passing the infirmary when Neferet found him. "Stark! Where were you?" she shouted.

"I dunno, do I? When I woke up, I was up here." He thought it was a good idea to not let her know that he knew Kalona had been in his body because if she knew that he knew that she had those powers, he knew that she would know that he knew something more and it would probably end badly, you know?

"Well, follow me," she said, annoyed. She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him along with her until they were down in the dungeon again. It was only then that Stark remembered that Neferet was practically psychic, and he hoped that she had not picked up on his thoughts about Kalona and Zoey and -

And he should stop thinking about them before the situation got any worse. So Stark quickly covered up his thoughts with memories. Not of Will, in case she managed to connect that with his experience in the Otherworld. But he just thought about his old school, his old friends, anything that Neferet wouldn't care enough about to listen carefully to.

"Thirsty?" Neferet asked him.

He got ready to say no, remembering what Will had told him about not consuming anything she gave him. But Will hadn't wanted Stark to be sent to the Otherworld. Stark wanted the opposite. So he said, "Yeah, okay."

Neferet tossed him the blood bag, and he drank it as fast as he could. And, just as he had expected, he was soon passed out and on his way to the Otherworld.

* * *

**Because I'm so nice, I'm gonna add on a small bit more =) Oh and I'm gonna be using a little bit of what happened in the real Burned, but nothing major that'll spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read it yet. Just kinda like Light and Darkness, the bulls, etc. That kinda stuff. Plus, this isn't technically my version of Burned, I'm finished that xD**

_**Neferet**_

Neferet laughed cruelly as Stark's body slumped against the damp wall. "Foolish mortal," she said, throwing away the bag of blood he had drank from. Then, as the aura of Darkness pulsed around her, she called it to her and said, "Darkness, I call on you to do my bidding. This Warrior has been idiotic and once again has been banished from his body. I call on you to bring someone to his empty body." She paused. Before Kalona had a chance to realize that Stark's body was free and enter it, she quickly said, "I do not ask you to bring Kalona, as I have before. I ask you to bring the spirit of Loren Blake to this boy's body."


	16. Chapter 16

******Anyone else hate Glee with a livid, fiery passion? =)**

**Puddytwoshoes: Thanks!**

**So I was talking to ArrowBoy's Girl about House of Night, and we both agree that the series are blasphemous and go against God. Anyone else feel that way? I mean, they go on about a goddess and make Zoey's dad like evil. Fair enough if they wanna do that, but do they really have to make all Christians seem like that? I love House of Night, but that's starting to annoy me.**

**On the other hand, I've got some awesome news: Last week I (finally) sat down and thought of a plot for this story :D :D I'm so proud of myself lol.**

**I can't stop listening to the Hoedown Throwdown, and I LOATH Miley Cyrus. With acid and venom =) I sound like I hate loads of things at the moment, but it's really just Glee and Miley Cyrus =)**

**OMG look up Taylor Swift's Monologue Song on Youtube, even if you don't like her (I LOVE her xD) it's so funny!**

* * *

When I woke up, Stevie Rae was gone. I sighed and started to get up. Everything came rushing back to me - Neferet, Stark, Kalona ... And, oh yeah, the fact that I might be pregnant. My life really sucked sometimes.

Nala grumbled at me from the end of my bed, still a bit pissed that I'd left. I ignored her and got ready to go downstairs where my friends probably were.

And I was right, they were sitting there with the TV on, but of course nobody was paying any attention to whatever the hell the show was. Nala followed me, weaving between my legs and nearly tripping me more than once.

"Hey," Damien greeted me, smiling.

"Hey," I replied. "Any news from Stark and Neferet?"

"None," Darius answered. "I'm guessing we'll just have to sit here and wait until Stark comes back."

_Or Kalona,_ I thought. "So, are you guys as tired as I am?"

"Tell me about it. This whole fighting evil thing is so not working for me," Aphrodite grumbled. I smiled. "Yeah, so it's about time we faced it and got it all over with, right?"

"Right," Stevie Rae twanged. I smiled again. Though I had no idea how we were going to even _begin _to defeat Kalona - who knew if this switching bodies thing with Stark and Neferet would even contribute to it? Kalona obviously had the advantage on us. We had no idea what we were doing, we were just going by guessing. But it was kinda reassuring to know that my friends had total faith in me. Reassuring yet worrying.

I was thinking about all this just as Stark walked into the room. I knew better than to go to him and ask how everything had gone - that faraway look was in his eyes. The faraway look that meant Kalona was in his body. It really pissed me off that Kalona and Neferet were using his body, but I knew that it had to be done to ultimately defeat them.

* * *

**_Neferet_**

Stark groaned and sat up slowly, holding his head as if he had a pounding headache. "What ... Where ... ?" Loren said, then his eyes focused on Neferet's smug face. "You... You!" he said, confused but remembering what had happened that night.

"You!" he shouted again, rising to his feet, still clutching his head with one hand and pointing with the other. "How could you - ? How _dare _you - ! Why - ?"

"Loren, please, calm yourself," Neferet said, silencing him immediately, and smirking to herself. "Let's get this clear: I am not sorry for what I did. I am absolutely _delighted _that I killed you. But I happen to need your help, so I have called you back from wherever the hell you were."

"The Otherworld," he answered immediately.

"What?" she snapped, not happy with being interrupted.

"I was in the Otherworld. That's where you go when you're dead." He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I thought you were a High Priestess."

She glared, but then her mind started spinning. To Stark. He had to be _somewhere _when someone was in his body. What if - ?

But no. No, that couldn't be possible. Could it?

Either way, it didn't matter. So what if Stark was in the Otherworld? What could that do to affect her plans, anyway? Nothing.

"I am a High Priestess, thank you, Professor Blake. Now, I want you to go to Zoey and her friends. Go to them and - "

"Zoey," Loren repeated, as if in a trance. Neferet frowned. "Why do you insist on interrupting me?" she demanded. "Now, go to Zoey, and - "

Realization suddenly lit up in Loren's eyes. "Zoey," he repeated, meaning in the word this time. "I was with her, that night. I ... " he trailed off.

"Yes, you were. Now, moving on, - "

"You made me trick her. You hypnotized me, you - "

"That's enough!" Neferet's shout echoed around them.

"No!" Loren shouted, just as loud, if not louder. "It's not enough! I .. I really liked her! I ... You made me ... "

"Oh, poor you. You loved her?" Neferet taunted. "Too bad. You'll have to wait in line." She snickered. "So, ready to continue?"

Loren's jaw was set, but he nodded.

"Wonderful. Go to Zoey, and trick her - again - into trusting you. Once that's done, come back to me. Settled?"

Loren nodded again. Neferet had control of him. He couldn't help it. And he also was unsure, wondering if maybe, just maybe, there was a part of him, an old part of him, that still felt something for Zoey. And with that thought in mind, he left an aggravated, intuitive Neferet behind and searched for Zoey.

* * *

**_Zoey_**

"Kalona, hear me out," Darius was saying. And me? I was staring at Stark (Kalona, whatever) really hard, knowing there was something different, just wondering _what_. And he stared back at me, and in his dark, red tinged eyes, something flickered through. Something that looked to me like love, compassion. Ugh, I thought we'd gone past the whole A-ya thing. Did I have to explain _yet again_ that she and I were two different people, with different choices?

"Zoey," Kalona said, pushing past Darius and reaching me. I didn't notice then how I instinctively took a step back from him, something I never did around Kalona. It was a sign of weakness, the last vibe I needed him to get off me. "Zoey," he said again, and I froze.

Because I knew that voice. And it wasn't Kalona's. Or Stark's, but that was obvious. It was Loren Blake's.

* * *

**Soo.. 1,039 words.. NOT counting the ANs.. Happy? =)**

**Sorry I took so long, just coming up to exams and studying and stuff, you know? So I'm probably gonna wait another week or two before I update, okay? Just to get all the exams over with and stuff.**

**And guys, PLEASE read the Chaos Walking series. They're 'The Knife of Never Letting Go', 'The Ask And The Answer', and 'Monsters of Men', in that order. By Patrick Ness. Please, please read them, they're THE best series I've ever read, EVER! I'm gonna start a fanfic for it soon, too. And if you read them (PLEASE do), talk to JonHolliday16, he's really cool xD**

**Love you all! (You know that anyways)**

**~TOB  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	17. Chapter 17

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**I read over parts of Stolen recently and realized I've been acting kinda bitchy lol, sorry =( Some things just happened since Christmas so I was kind of in a bad mood, but sorry if I offended anyone and stuff. I'm gonna try and update more often, too =) xxxxxxxx**

* * *

"Wait.. Loren?" I asked, really confused. "What are you doing in Stark's body? I thought Kalona ... " I trailed off.

"Loren? Loren Blake?" Shaunee asked excitedly, standing up. I glared at her. This guy had tricked me and possibly left me pregnant, and she was getting _excited_? She shrugged apologetically.

"Loren, what are you doing here? Why isn't Kalona here? Did Neferet bring you back?" I demanded.

He nodded.

"Great," I said sarcastically, flopping down next to Stevie Rae. Nala jumped on my lap. "How can she even do this? I thought it was only Kalona she could bring back," I said, not to anyone in particular.

"Obviously Neferet has more powers than we thought," Darius said, not unkindly. "She's bringing people back without Kalona's powers. Unless, for some reason, Kalona _wants_ Loren Blake to come back, but I can't see why he would." He seemed to be reasoning things out with himself.

"Who's Kalona?" Loren asked innocently, but I wasn't buying it. I gave him a dirty look, then turned away again.

"This evil immortal guy," Erin told him. Enthusiastically. "He plans on taking over the world and stuff with Neferet, except he wants Zoey too."

I still didn't say anything to Loren.

"I don't get any of this!" I exclaimed, frustrated. "How is Neferet doing this?"

"I think Darius is right," Damien said, speaking for the first time. I looked at him. "I think Neferet is much more powerful than we suspected. Which means our plan about Stark shooting her probably won't work. She's able to call people from the Otherworld - that's pretty big. And I doubt Kalona has much to do with this. Stark said he was trapped in the earth again, and that's where he's least powerful. This is our chance. If we can take down Neferet, Kalona will be no problem."

I considered this. Honestly, I'd forgotten about what Stark said. "So you're saying that Neferet is more powerful than Kalona?"

"At the moment, yeah, looks like it."

I nodded, biting my lip (something I apparently do when I'm stressed out). "So what should we do?" Jack asked. I realized everyone was looking at me.

"Um, well, I guess we should take care of Loren first," I offered.

"You mean kill him? 'Cause he's in your Warrior's body, so I don't think Stark would be too happy when he comes back and finds himself in a dead body," Stevie Rae said.

"Well, we've gotta get him out of there somehow," Jack said.

"Doesn't matter, Neferet will take him out after a while," I said.

"Okay, can someone please just tell me what's going on?" Loren said, and of course the Twins began filling him in on what had happened since his death.

* * *

_**Stark**_

"So there's nothing else?" Stark asked Will. "Nothing at all that could help us?"

Will shrugged. "That's pretty much it. Sorry."

Stark nodded. "Okay. Well, thanks. Everything you've already said is a big help to us." Stark glanced at his best friend. He looked the same as he always had before the Summer Games. Tall, pale, jet black hair. He looked a lot happier, though, and a lot healthier too. "I'm really happy I got to see you again, by the way," Stark told him.

Will grinned. "Same here. And James, please, stop blaming yourself."

"It's Stark," he mumbled.

"Stark, then," Will said, and Stark nodded.

"Where's Heath?" He asked suddenly, remembering Zoey's request. Will shrugged again.

"I need to find him before Neferet brings me back," Stark said, getting to his feet. "I have to tell him something."

Stark let his mind wander as he walked around looking for Heath. Every now and then he called for him out loud, hoping he could find him and deliver Zoey's message before Neferet called him back to his body. Apparently it was his lucky day.

He thought about Heath. Just Heath. Stark had a lot of respect for the younger teenager. He could never imagine actually _telling_Zoey to go back to the real world. If it was the other way around, Stark knew that he would have tried to keep Zoey with him, if she wanted to. He was too selfish to think about the fate of the world.

"You just don't love her as much as I do," Heath said. He was suddenly there, leaning against a tree as if he had been there all along, and Stark knew that he hadn't. He was a little annoyed about that, but then he was dumbfounded. How did Heath know what he had been thinking? Had be been speaking aloud?

Heath chuckled. "Don't ask me why, because I don't have a clue, but everything you think, or feel or whatever, everyone can hear it here."

"Huh," was all Stark said. He hadn't even noticed that before. Then he said, "What took you so long? I was looking for you for ages!"

Heath shrugged. "MaybeI liked watching you look," he said, grinning. "So . . . ?"

"What?" Stark answered with another question.

"There's a message you have for me?"

"Oh. Sorry," Stark replied hastily. "It's just what you already know, really. Zoey wants me to tell you that she loves you and she's sorry."

Heath smiled sadly. "She's still blaming herself?"

Stark nodded, then thought of something. "Hey, how come you're not looking over Zoey or whatever, like Will was looking at me?"

Heath shrugged again. "I just don't want to. At least not right now." Neither of them spoke for a moment. Then Heath said, "Look, just tell Zo that I know she loves me, I love her back and she can't let my death ruin her life. Tell her I want her to accept it and move on, you know?"

Stark smiled, a reflection of Heath's sad one. "I can tell her, but that doesn't mean she'll listen."

Heath grinned. "Yeah. Since when does she listen to me, anyway?"

"Ah, crap," Stark said suddenly as he felt the familiar drain that meant he was leaving the Otherworld. Should it worry him that it was so familiar? Probably. "I'll tell her, Heath," Stark called as he slipped away.

* * *

_**Zoey**_

"And then Zoey realized - " Erin was filling Loren in, and was abruptly cut off by Stevie Rae.

"Erin!" Stevie Rae shouted, shutting her right up.

"Realized what?" Loren said, staring at me. Yeah, I was totally going to tell him that I was pregnant with his baby. Not.

"Nothing," I said coldly.

But Loren wasn't dumb. He turned to the Twins. "What did Zoey realize?" he asked them. Seductively.

I can count on the Twins to save my life any day - to risk their own lives to save mine. But when there's a hot guy around that the obsess over, I most certainly can't count on them to keep my secrets.

"That she's pregnant," they both blurted - happily.

Loren's eyes met mine and in that moment something suddenly changed for me. We looked at each other, anger radiating from my body. His eyes met mine steadily, and in them I saw something that totally surprised me. I saw a deep emotion that looked like love. That's why I was so shocked. I mean, it was Loren Blake for crying out loud. He was a liar, he'd used me, he'd tricked me. He didn't love me. He didn't care about me.

Unfortunately, though, it took me a while to figure this out. The reason for that was probably the fact that the eyes I was staring into were the brown eyes of my Warrior. So, yeah, I was a little lost for a while, but those chocolate brown eyes, though showing me glimpses of love, were lacking their usual warmth. It was obvious, however, that Loren was trying (unsuccessfully) to hide the emotion rising to the surface of his betraying eyes. Well, at least they were his temporarily. Ugh, this was so confusing!

I started to soften a little when I realized that this horrible, cold man had feelings and emotions. But then I remembered that he also probably harboured homicidal tendencies, and instantly hardened again.

That's when I finally looked away from Loren. As if on cue, when I broke away, he asked, "Zoey? Is this true?" It made me mentally sick when he put on that stupid voice of authority, as if he was so much more mature than me.

I glanced at him long enough to suffice as a reply, and that reply was positive. And, once again taking me by complete surprise, Loren gasped and took half a step towards me. His hand was clamped over his mouth. He removed it long enough to ask, "You're sure?", then it resumed its postition covering his mouth when I nodded, trying to avoid making conversation with the man.

Although I did turn to the Twins to let them have a taste of my glare. "Thanks a lot," I muttered, wondering whatever happened to friendship, or girl solidarity at the least. They shrugged helplessly, as if they had been put in a trance by Loren and couldn't help but answer him totally honestly. Plus, how uncomfortable was it that the guy they were flirting with was in my Warrior's body? Very, I can tell you.

"So, if you two are done flirting with Loren-slash-_Stark_, maybe you could contribute a little to help us out here?" I asked, emphasising Stark's name. The Twins at least had the shame to look embarrassed when I mentioned him.

And then, conveniently enough, Loren collapsed. Right there, on the ground. Oh, and no prizes for guessing which two of my friends were the ones to rush to his side and check for a pulse and whatever (believe it or not, vamps _do _have them).

"Oh, come on," Aphrodite said. "Do _not _tell me that he fainted with the shock of becoming a father. Gay or what? No offence, Gay Boys."

Damien and Jack ignored her.

When Loren finally came around, he looked confused. "Z?" he asked, staring right at me, and I nearly collapsed myself with relief when I recognized Stark's voice. I jumped from my position next to Stevie Rae ( something Nala wasn't too happy about) and helped my Warrior up.

Stark tried to shove me off, grunting, "I'm fine." Jeesh, I hated when guys tried to be all manly like that. I rolled my eyes at him and stubbornly grabbed him again. "That's gonna leave a bruise," he groaned, raising a hand to his forehead that had apparently hit the ground pretty hard when Loren fell.

I rubbed his back soothingly. "You'll be fine," I reassured him, then turned to Damien. "What the hell happened there?" I demanded. "I thought Neferet wanted to call him back or something before she removed him from Stark's body?"

Damien shrugged. "Best I can come up with is either she changed her mind or else she didn't have enough energy." I found myself hoping with everything I had that it was the second one.

"I agree," Darius said. "Although I can't see why she'd want to bring Stark back without getting information from Blake first. Unless she really needs to use Stark for something?"

Stark shrugged.

"I know what you mean," I told Darius. "I mean, the reason she sent Loren here was to find out stuff about us. So what would her motivation be? She's running out of energy, or she needs Stark." I turned to my Warrior, who was still clutching his head. "What do you think?"

He shrugged again. "All I can say is it's so much more relaxing coming back to you guys rather than her."

"Thanks, I guess," I said. "But this is serious, Stark. Do you know anything?"

His grin immediately disappeared, and he took my hand. "No, I swear. And Will had nothing else for us."

I nodded, a little disappointed about the Will thing, but satisfied.

"So are we gonna sit here like dummies or are we gonna kick some Neferet butt?" Stevie Rae piped up. As usual, everyone was looking at me. I groaned internally. I was so sick of being the decision maker the whole time! Damn it, besides Jack I was the youngest in the room!

"We're gonna sit like dummies," I said. "If I've learned anything from my experiences with Neferet, it's never, ever to interfere with her plans. It's dangerous. Fatal, even."

Aphrodite nodded in agreement with me, but my other friends weren't too happy. They grunted, whined and moaned. "Hey, I'm not stopping anybody." I told them. "Go for it if you want. It's your funeral - Stark, no!"

"But you said - " he complained, reaching for the door handle.

"Yeah, well, I didn't mean it. So just come back here already!"

Stark muttered under his breath, but he was smiling. I rolled my eyes at him. It was becoming a regular habit. Most of my other friends were looking at me, their faces demanding an explanation.

I sighed. "Well, if we just wait, Neferet will use her power over Stark to call him back to her, if she wants him. But either way, she'll need him to get Kalona or Loren or whoever into his body. So we'll wait here, where it's _safe, _until she calls him, and then we'll follow and find out what the hell the deal with Neferet is."

"What do you mean, Loren? Loren Blake? The one who - ?"

"Yup," I answered Stark. "He was in your body just now, not Kalona."

It took a couple of seconds for this to register properly with Stark. Then the change in him was drastic. His face was ghostly pale, then completely red with anger. He cursed loudly and kicked a nearby table - from the_ crunch! _sound that followed, I guessed it had hurt him a lot more than it showed on his face.

"Congrats, Warrior Boy. You proved that you're a testosterone - filled dork and broke a couple of toes in the process," Aphrodite commented.

He ignored her - probably the wisest decision he'd ever made in his life. But Aphrodite knew that with the mood he was in, it would be easy to aggravate him. And she felt like messing with him. "I mean, really. Dude, you got into a fight with a table. And the table won."

Stark was about to turn on her when the Twins started snickering, and Aphrodite turned on them, almost as furious as Stark had been. "What are Dumb and Dumber sniggering at?"

"Nothing," Erin said.

"Dude," Shaunee added, and they erupted into fits of laughter again.

Aphrodite's face turned as red as Stark's as she rounded on the Twins. But then Stark fell to the ground, and everyone froze. He looked up, his pupils red and dilated. Great. Just great. Neferet was already calling him back to her, and he hadn't even got a chance to tell her if he had been able to talk to Heath.

* * *

**I know it took forever, I'm so sorry! A couple of people PMed me, thanks you guys xD so I promised to make this longer than usual. This is over 2,700 words and my chapters are usually a little over 1,000 so that's my apology =] Last night I just sat down (well, lay down 'cause I wrote it in bed) and wrote about 2,000 =] So let me know what you thought! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	18. Chapter 18

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Sorry I took so long.. Had no idea it was a whole month =/ So, soooo sorry, I won't let it go that long again! Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are like the awesomest ever, but you already know that, so here's the chapter =]

* * *

_Neferet_

For a long time after Loren left, Neferet just stood there. And not for the first time, she wondered. Where did Stark go when she used her power over him to remove him from his body? Surely he couldn't just disappear from the face of the earth? He couldn't just cease to exist, could he?

Neferet bit her lip to stop the frustrated scream that threatened to come out of her mouth when she realized that he had to be _somewhere_. Then, subconsciously, she started to work it out. Without a working body, Stark was dead. So where could he be, besides the Otherworld?

Neferet hoped that she was wrong. But she had to find out, somehow. So she started to follow Loren, hoping that someone would say something to answer her question.

Suddenly it hit her - if her suspicions about Stark being in the Otherworld were true, there was a bigger problem. What sort of information could Stark be getting there? These children, Neferet had to admit, weren't stupid. Neferet knew, deep down, that if they really tried and she wasn't careful enough, there was a chance they could defeat her. And she would do almost anything to prevent that from happening.

So Neferet stopped walking for a minute and called upon Darkness to remove the soul of Loren Blake from the young Warrior's body. When she got a response of a dark but reassuring wave rush through her, she continued to walk, noticeably slower and calmer than when Loren's sould had occupied Stark's body. When Stark had possibly been in the Otherworld.

When she arrived outside the dorms, she kept silent and used her intuitiveness on top of her vampyre senses to listen to their conversation.

"Thanks, I guess. But this is serious, Stark. Do you know anything?" That was the unmistakable voice of Zoey Redbird.

"No, I swear. And Will had nothing else for us," Stark replied.

The name Stark mentioned triggered something in Neferet's head. Will ... she associated that name with Stark and his gift, but why? Then it hit her. He was Stark's mentor from the Chicago House of Night, the one Stark killed in the Summer Games.

Will was dead. Which meant, Neferet realized as her stomach dropped, that her suspicions had been confirmed. Stark had been to the Otherworld. He had talked to Will, who had given them 'nothing _else_.' So he had given them _something_. Which meant that Zoey was a step closer to destroying Neferet.

Neferet's brain was working slowly because of the disbelief that she had been outsmarted by a bunch of hormone-driven teenagers. They had used her own plans agaisnt her. So Neferet called upon the power she had inherited by resurrecting Stark and then called him to her. She was going by instinct, impulsively choosing to remove him from the group. He was where they got their information from. He had to be killed.

As Stark left, Neferet heard Zoey groan. "I'm so sick of her doing this to him!" she blurted to her friends. Neferet smirked. She had completed what she had initially set out to do. She had annoyed Zoey, so hopefully Zoey would try to get revenge. Maybe then, Neferet could finally get rid of her.

But then, Neferet thought as she led Stark back to the cold, dank room, would it really be best to kill Stark now rather than later? She could hint to Zoey her plans of Stark's death, therefore burdening her with the information. Zoey would be tortured, knowing what was coming.

Neferet released her hold on Stark as she locked the door. He spun around and glared at her. "Stop doing that!" he growled.

She smirked in reply. "Sit down, Stark. We need to talk."

_**Zoey**_

We sat in silence, waiting for Loren or Kalona to come back in Stark's body. Or whoever else Neferet could bring into his body.

"Seriously? No one wants to bring up any subject to lessen the awkwardness?" Aphrodite said.

After a few failed attempts at conversation, I gave up talking to the others, who claimed they were too tired. And Aphrodite wasn't too great at the conversation she suggested, to be honest.

"This is dumb," I said eventually. "Neferet's not sending anyone back. She's probably torturing Stark, or asking Loren for information about us or anything we said. We have to go and look for Stark."

"Uh, no, genius," said Aphrodite. "If she's not sending anyone back, obviously she _wants_ you to go to her, she _wants_ you to think she's torturing Stark. Don't you watch the movies?"

I ignored her, but I had a feeling she was wrong. I had a feeling that she didn't just want me to _think _she was torturing Stark, she just was. I turned to Darius. "When my soul shattered, Stark found me. How did he get there so fast?"

"He blocked out everything and focused on you and your bond. Why?"

"Can that work both ways?"

Darius opened his mouth to answer, paused, then frowned. I took that as a good sign.

"Zoey, I told you, it's probably a trap." Aphrodite said, annoyed. Shaunee and Erin nodded but my other friends were looking at me, as if they were considering what I had just asked.

"Well? Can it?" I asked Darius.

"I don't see any reason as to why it wouldn't," Damien interjected.

"I don't know," Darius replied. "I don't think there was ever need for it before. A Priestess would rarely run after her Warrior."

I shuddered, remembering how everyone expected me to see Stark as replaceable. "So how did Stark do it?"

Darius gave me a long look, then said, "Just think of him, ignore everything else."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, thinking of when I first saw Stark, when he first shared my bed, when he offered his Oath to me. And then I was running.

* * *

**I know it's a little short, I just wanted to put something up, I'll try to update again this week! XXXXXXXXXXXX**


	19. Chapter 19

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**I know I said I was going to try to update sooner, but some stuff came up... Anyway, here's the next chapter, definitely won't have another one up for another week at the soonest. Oh, have you guys seen The Karate Kid? It's so awesome xD**

* * *

_Stark_

Stark glared at Neferet, his hand on the door handle even though he knew it was locked, plus Neferet could bring him straight back and there would be nothing he could do about it. Neferet's face remained impassive.

"Stark, sit down," she repeated, a little more sternly. But Stark continued to glare at her from his position at the door. There was no way he would do as she said, act like her puppet, even if she had control over him. He wanted to use what little freedom he had to do the exact opposite of what she asked, but of course, smiling coldly, Neferet focused on him and he found himself walking towards her and sitting down, cursing both himself and Neferet inside.

"So, Stark," said Neferet conversationally. "I've been wondering..."

She didn't say anything more and Stark didn't bother acknowledging her words. He stared at his own feet as if they held the secrets of the universe, not bothered in the slightest. Neferet gave him a long, calculating look, then said abruptly, "Stark, where do you go when your soul leaves your body?"

The question took him by such surprise that Stark forgot how interested he had been in his own feet. He caught himself just in time, and didn't look into her face. However, a couple of seconds later, he risked a quick glance at Neferet's face and saw by her curling lip that his reaction had not gone unnoticed. After that, he kept his eyes on his feet again.

"Do you go to the Otherworld?"

Again, this question was a complete shock. Even more so than the last. Unfortunately, Stark couldn't help it when his neck snapped up. His eyes locked with hers, and he knew there was no point covering it up. Her lip was slowly curving very, very high, but he still tried.

"Why would you think that?" he asked.

"Oh, Stark, stop. Just tell me what you know."

Stark said nothing. How she had found out about the Otherworld he had no idea, but how could she know that he had information? His feet were, once again, becoming increasingly interesting. But Neferet's patience was wearing thin. Her eyes narrowed, and then Stark felt the need to tell her everything. Just as he opened his mouth to tell her everything Will had told him, he thought of Zoey and the others and how much trouble he could be getting them in. His mouth closed again.

"Tell me what you found out," Neferet said sternly.

Stark's mouth opened again, but then a small voice in the back of his head said, _No, I don't think I will, thanks. _The urge to tell her everything pressed down on him, harder and harder. It was drowning him. Yet the voice in his head questioned him as he tried to tell Neferet again. _But why? _asked the voice. _Why tell her everything when she could just use it against Zoey?_

Neferet became increasingly annoyed, and worried, with Stark not telling her anything. It was evident on her face that this hadn't happened to her before. She didn't know what to do. But then, Neferet smiled. Her eyes narrowed, and then Stark was in excruciating pain.

It was like nothing he'd felt before. It was as if knives were stabbing him everywhere. He clutched himself to protect his body, but it didn't stop them. Then came the searing sensation of freezing cold water being thrown on him. It seemed to last for hours, then the door was opened.

* * *

_**Zoey**_

Before I even knew what was actually happening, I was standing at a door. I stood there for a moment, catching my breath and wondering if Stark was behind it. That was when I heard the roars of agony coming from behind the door, and I knew Neferet was doing something to Stark.

Using fire, I burst the door open and ran into the small, smelly, dungeon-like room. My eyes first went to Stark, writhing in pain on the floor. Distracted by my entrance, Neferet looked up, and whatever she had been doing to Stark stopped and he lay crumpled, breathing hard, defeated.

"What the hell did you do to him?" I asked calmly.

Neferet smirked. "I was just asking him some questions. About the Otherworld, for instance, and what he's been learning there. What he's been finding out that he shouldn't have been."

I was completely shocked - how the hell did she know about the Otherworld? Had Stark told her? But I quickly recovered and composed my face. "Whatever, Neferet," I said, walking towards Stark and helping him up.

"So what did Will tell you?" she asked. It seemed as though the question was directed at me. I don't even know why I did it, but I did. I attacked Neferet.

I ran at her and did everything I could - punched, kicked, bit, scratched, clawed, pinched. She didn't react until I'd been at it for a while, then just threw me off as if I weighed no more than a feather. Then she smiled, looked at Stark and left the room.

I spun around to question Stark about what had happened, but he was on the ground again. Full of anger at Neferet, I helped him up. "Are you okay, Stark? What the hell did she do to you?"

His brown eyes met mine, and then I heard a voice I thought I would never hear again. I looked at who I had thought to be Stark in the face, and from his lips came Heath's voice. "Zo? What happened?"

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**This chapter was brought to you by the awesomeness of the new single 'Mine' by Taylor Swift, and the equally awesome song 'Never Say Never' by Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith. Jaden Smith's rap is the highlight of my week =] Justin Bieber? Didn't cut it =/ Taylor Swift? She just about did xD**


	20. Chapter 20

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Hey, so before the chapter, just wanna say some things.. yasmin, thanks for your reviews, and thanks so much for mentioning my dog =] You're really awesome xx jaz, hope you enjoy the real Burned =] Beth-Ann Koyle, haven't mentioned you in a while and you're really cool so thanks xD cAnDy-X-gYaL, your review made me smile, so thanks =] lovesJS, you're actually the reason I'm posting this chapter now! and xbrowneyedvampirex, I'm currently OBSESSED with 'Mine', I can't find the proper song though, I read somewhere that that was coming out on Monday =

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_**Zoey**_

"Heath? Is it really you?" I asked, unwilling to believe. I hated Neferet for what she was doing to Stark and his soul, not to mention the others, but this was _Heath._

"Yeah, but what's going on?" Heath asked. I made to hug him, but stopped myself just in time. As much as I wanted Heath to be with my right now, this was Neferet. Why would she bring Heath into Stark's body? She'd know it wouldn't upset me, only make me happy. And Neferet would never want to make me happy. There must be something she's done - this can't be Heath. It can't be _my _Heath.

"Zo, what the hell? I thought I died?"

"Yeah.. You did.." I didn't know what to believe - was it Heath or not? Hot tears sprang to my eyes, and I couldn't help hugging him hard.

Heath hugged me back, and fresh tears poured down my face when I realized it wasn't right. He was in Stark's body so he looked, felt and smelled like Stark. Not Heath. It was just wrong. Maybe this was Neferet's idea of torture - though it seemed a little mild.

"So what's happening? Why do I feel weird?" Heath pulled away to frown at me.

"That might be because you're kind of in Stark's body.. It's a long story."

By the time I'd finished explaining, Darius had burst into the room. "She's in here!" he called over his shoulder, and Aphrodite, Stevie Rae, Damien, Jack and the Twins followed him.

"So you found Stark," Damien said, smiling.

"Yeah. Kinda. But Neferet's done it again." I felt really bad about it, but I couldn't help giving my friends a small smile. Of course they all noticed this, and in turn I received seven frowns.

"So who is it? Loren or Kalona?" Erin asked hopefully.

"Heath," I replied, studying them carefully.

Darius looked impassive. Aphrodite, like she was trying not to care. Damien and Jack both looked happy, the Twins looked happy but a little disappointed, and Stevie Rae looked positively delighted. "That's great, Z!" she chirped, running to me to give me a hug.

"Yeah," I said, smiling guiltily. It was just so typical of me to get us into a mess like this. It was unfair to everyone. My friends shouldn't have had to risk their lives for me (more than once). Stark shouldn't have had to help me defeat Kalona and Neferet by pledging himself to me as my Warrior. My grandma shouldn't have had to constantly be at risk for me, either. And Heath should never have had to die for me, ever. Whatever I did, I was harming other people. And it was only happening because I couldn't bear to distance myself from them.

"So how did you get rid of Loren and Kalona?" Heath asked.

"We didn't. They just kinda left themselves. Maybe there's a time limit, or maybe Neferet just moved them out. Why?" I asked.

Heath shrugged. "Shouldn't I be leaving? Let Stark come back and stuff?"

My heart sank. "Umm.. Well, I guess.. If you want to."

Heath put his hands on either side of my face. "I love you, Zo. I just don't think this is right.. It's messing with stuff that isn't supposed to be messed with."

I nodded. "I know. You're right. I just miss you, that's all."

He smiled sadly. "I know. I miss you too. But listen, Zo, you've gotta get rid of Neferet and Kalona and all that stuff. I don't think I can really help you there."

I was about to suggest that maybe he could when Neferet returned.

"Great, a little reunion," she said, looking around at my friends with an expression of utter disgust, saving the worst of it for me and Heath. "So, have we decided what we're going to do next? What our plan is?" she asked, mocking.

I was about to retort, but I caught myself and held my tongue, settling for a vicious glare instead. I didn't really feel like giving her that kind of satisfaction. She must have taken it the wrong way, though, because she just smirked. "Is it a secret?" she asked, and Aphrodite, obviously not capable of resisting temptation, snorted, examining her nails.

"Think you have the upper hand here?" she asked Neferet, not looking at her. "Think again."

I tried to give Aphrodite a significant look to shut her up, but she purposely ignored it. What was the point in lying to Neferet? If anything, it made it worse for us. If she was stupid enough to believe Aphrodite and think that we knew exactly what she was up to, then she might panic and attack. If not, well, she wouldn't be too happy about us attempting to trick her. So either way, Aphrodite should have just shut the hell up.

As it turned out, Neferet was not as stupid as Aphrodite believed. She echoed Aphrodite's snort and turned away from her. Luckily she didn't think too much of Aphrodite's words - but was that better or worse?

"So, I assume you've figured out what I want you to do?" Neferet asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, befuddled.

Neferet laughed a high, cold laugh. "I give you too much credit, my dear. You are even stupider than I thought. Funny, you seemed a lot brighter when I was teaching you," she said reminiscently.

I didn't say anything. Then she looked at me. "So, I suppose I'll explain. I am giving you a very good deal, I think. I will keep your ex-consort in your Warrior's body, if you want me to."

It took a few moments for the words to make sense in my head. Even then, I didn't really get it. "What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously.

"I mean," she said meaningfully, frowning at my stupidity. "I mean that I will banish your Warrior's soul from his body for good and allow you to keep your ex-consort with you, in your Warrior's body. Being in his body means your ex-consort will be a Red Vampyre, and live as long as your Warrior would have. With you. Or I can banish your ex-consort's soul and have your Warrior return to you. The choice is yours."

So I had to choose between Heath and Stark. Just the idea was plain torture. But the worst part was, I honestly didn't know who to choose.

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**Mwahahaha I feel so evil xD Review!xxxxxxx**


	21. Chapter 21

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Thanks for the awesome reviews =]

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_Stark_

This time was different.

Stark knew it as he felt the familiar pull dragging his soul from his body to the Otherworld. He had a hunch, and he was right. This time was different. Neferet had changed something, done something else with him. He didn't think he was going to be seeing Will and Heath this time.

Stark closed his eyes and took deep breaths. Though he would never admit it, he was frightened. The feeling he had was not a good one. It was dark.

Suddenly, he felt himself fall, like that dream people sometimes have when they're barely asleep. They fall, but never land. Stark knew that just like in that dream, he wouldn't land.

After a while, he opened his eyes. And just like that, he wasn't falling anymore. He felt a lot better, until he actually took in his surroundings.

He wasn't in the Otherworld, that was for sure. He wasn't anywhere. He was just in darkness.

Stark panicked. His stomach sank and he felt completely and utterly hopeless, like he would never see light again.

And he had another instinct. Stark knew, just like he had known that he wasn't going to the Otherworld, that he was stuck there forever. Unless Neferet changed her mind (which was very unlikely), then he would be stuck there, with that horrible, sickening feeling of hopelessness, forever.

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_**Zoey**_

How was I supposed to choose between Heath and Stark?

I stared at Neferet, open mouthed, until I realized that it probably wasn't smart to let her know exactly how bothered I was by this. I looked away from her immediately and, with a high, cold laugh she flounced out of the room, leaving me with my friends and my ex-consort in my Warrior's body.

I turned to my friends, horrified. Judging by their expressions, so were they.

"That's so unfair. I can't believe anyone would do that," Damien whispered.

"It _is _Neferet we're talking about," Shaunee countered.

"Still, though! How anyone could make someone decide the fate of someone is just disgusting!" Damien shouted, giving the door that Neferet left through a dirty look. Then he looked at me. "Are you okay?" he asked, suddenly calm and gentle.

I nodded, feeling totally surreal. Damien was right, obviously. It was just sickening that someone could actually enable somebody else with the power of deciding whether to let someone live or die. It went against nature.

But then again, so did we. We weren't immortal, but no one was supposed to live as long as we do. I couldn't believe I was even considering this, but I was. I was actually considering going against nature. Bringing back the dead. After all, Stark had been brought back when he died. Why shouldn't Heath?

No. I was doing it - doing exactly what Neferet wanted. Doing what _she _did with Stevie Rae, Stark and the red fledglings. I loved having them back, but it wasn't right; I knew that. So the right thing to do here would be to send Heath back to the Otherworld and bring Stark back here, where he belonged.

I looked up at my friends, then my eyes fell on Heath.

"Zo?" he asked tentatively.

I didn't say anything, just continued to stare.

"Zo," Heath continued. "Don't worry about upsetting me or anything. I know that you'll do the right thing."

My heart fluttered when I realized that Heath assumed I would send him back. I really wasn't fair to him at all.

"Heath, I love you," I told him, though he already knew it. He smiled. "And I don't want you to think that I love Stark more than you or anything, because I don't. You've been my best friend since forever, and you're my consort, and you and Grandma are the only ones who've stuck with me since I was Marked."

I didn't know why I was telling him this, I just felt that I had to. Heath was the friend that had always been there, and you felt that you owed it to yourselves to try it and see how it went, but it didn't really work out. But you still loved him.

"Zoey, I know," he told me, taking my hands. I had to look away. It felt wrong to look into his eyes when they weren't his. They were Stark's.

And then I understood what Neferet wanted to do, though how it contributed towards me being unsuccessful in defeating Kalona, I wasn't sure. Neferet thought I would choose Heath, so then I would be tortured for the rest of my life by seeing Stark whenever I looked at Heath, a constant reminder of what I did and how it affected Stark. But if I chose Stark, I would live with the knowledge that I could have saved Heath, and didn't.

"You're going to do the right thing," Heath told me again.

"What do you want me to do?" I whispered.

He looked away. "I really don't know, Zo. I love you and I'd love to stay with you, but I couldn't live with myself knowing that I'd taken Stark's life, you know?" He smiled lopsidedly.

"Yeah, I know." I said.

"It's okay," Heath said, smiling. "The Otherworld's not so bad."

Though his smile was big, it didn't meet his eyes. And I knew that Heath wanted to stay here, and I wanted him to too. I just didn't want Stark to have to be the sacrifice for that.

"What do you guys think I should do?" I asked, turning to my friends and away from Heath, hoping it would help to clear my head a little.

"I couldn't even begin to consider it," Stevie Rae told me truthfully. "I mean, yeah, I'm not Stark's biggest fan, but that doesn't mean I should decide whether he returns from the Otherworld or not." I nodded.

"Z, Heath's right, you'll make the right choice, you always do," Erin said, smiling encouragingly. I rolled my eyes. Of course she wouldn't take any of the burden from my shoulders.

"You shouldn't mess with any of it, Zoey. You should keep things the way they were," Damien said, adding a quick, "sorry, Heath," at the end. Damien was seeing it the same way I was.

"I really don't know, Z," Aphrodite said, giving me a look of sympathy - and just that, coming from her, made it all even worse for me, if that was even possible.

"Priestess, the decision is yours," Darius said. "We can give our opinions, tell you what you already know, but at the end of the day it's up to you. You must decide."

I took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. Just.. I just need some time to think about it ... Do you think Neferet has a time limit or anything?"

Aphrodite snorted. "Doubt it. As long as you make whichever decision she wants you to make, she's good with time."

And Aphrodite made me realize that it didn't actually matter at all what I wanted to do. I had to make the decision that Neferet wouldn't want. And I had to decide which one that was before she realized that I wasn't thinking about myself, or even Stark and Heath for that matter. I was thinking about her and whether she could be destroyed or successful by my decision.

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**I think I might finish this soon, I might not make it as long as Burned. Should I continue with Burdened when I'm finished this or just leave it and start a new one? Songs I listened to while writing this are Taylor Swift Should've Said No and Katy Perry Thinking of You =] **

**~TOB**


	22. Chapter 22

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**I know I'm always apologizing for taking so long ... =/ So sorry =[ I've been getting loads of homework and stuff, so I had no time to update! Here it is though!**

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_Zoey_

I was just about to leave the room/dungeon when Neferet returned. From her expression, I wouldn't have been surprised if she had been outside this whole time, listening, waiting, looking for some indication as to what my choice would be. All I knew for sure was that she was enjoying watching me struggle very, very much.

"Oh, hello again, Zoey," she said. Her voice was pleasant and friendly, but her face remained hard and cold. I didn't respond - not even by glaring at her. Because hatred required caring, and what I felt towards Neferet was far beyond hate.

"I couldn't help overhearing," Neferet continued with a sly smile, ignoring my silence. "And I found that you were having a hard time deciding. So I thought I could help to make it a little easier for you."

Nobody spoke, and I knew that they were thinking exactly what I was: this was not good. Neferet's idea of 'helping' was surely going to make the situation even worse than it was, if that was at all possible.

"Zoey," Neferet said, voice still friendly. "You've heard your ex-consort's view on it. You've heard your friends' views on it. I'm sure you'd just love to hear your Warrior's point of view, would you not?"

I still didn't speak, but not because of how much I despised Neferet. I was silent because, well, I was shocked. I was sure this was a good thing.

But then I actually thought about it. Properly. And I realized that it was not a good thing at all. I loved Stark, but if I chose Heath I didn't want him to know. It would be easier for him if he was left in the Otherworld with Will. I didn't want him to be aware of the fact that, even though I told him I loved him countless times, when it really came down to it I would choose Heath over him.

And if Stark came back to his body, Heath would go back to the Otherworld, and he would already know about what was happening. And if he never came back, he would know that I favoured Stark over him.

Sometimes my life just really, really sucked.

I didn't exactly want to beg Neferet to leave Stark where he was, to allow me to think about my decision far away from Stark and Heath. Even if I had it would have been pointless, for she was already totally focused on Heath and murmuring words too quickly and quietly for me to make out.

"No! Wait! Leave him alone! I need to think," I yelled.

Neferet frowned and turned to me to express her exasperation, then turned back to Heath and continued her muttering. That's when I really knew who I should choose - not who I would, but who I _should_. I knew that when it really came down to it I would have to choose whoever Neferet didn't want me to choose, what I felt didn't matter. It wasn't about me. And at this moment I knew who she wanted me to choose. Stark. The question was, why?

And then Heath collapsed, leaving Stark's body empty, waiting for its owner to reclaim it.

"Do they always have to fall first?" Aphrodite demanded. "I'm sure it hurts when they wake up."

Neferet ignored her, facing me. "You can thank me later," she said. Her lip twitched, and in a typically Neferet fashion she flounced from the room.

I glanced at Stark's body (which was still empty) and then at my friends. Jack looked sort of happy, like he really wanted to see Stark again, but everyone else's expression displayed what I felt - anger, confusion, sadness, and also something I was beginning to see a lot on their faces where I was concerned: pity.

I didn't have time to say anything, because at that moment Stark twitched and sat up, his face in his hands.

"Stark?" I asked tentatively. "Are you alright?"

He looked up and when he saw me, his face instantly brightened. It made my stomach sink, given what was happening and my recent revelation.

Stark took a deep breath. "It's okay now," he said, a little shakily.

"Now?" I asked, growing worried. "What do you mean?"

"This time . . . This time was different."

I froze. Neferet. Of course there would be an even bigger consequence than me losing either Stark or Heath. "What happened?" I whispered.

"I didn't go to the Otherworld." Stark's eyes were distressed and never left mine. "I don't really know where I went. It was just nothing. I guess Neferet doesn't want me going to the Otherworld anymore. Everything was dark and I just felt . . . I felt really hopeless. I thought I'd never come back. It was terrifying."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Then I mentally shook myself and said, "Stark, something happened when you were gone. Neferet's making me choose between you and Heath."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that she brought Heath back this time. To your body. And she wants me to choose to either keep Heath in your body or bring you back." I watched his face as I let him absorb this. It didn't change.

I don't know why I burdened him with it. Maybe I shouldn't have told him. It would have been easier for him if I didn't, but I was selfish and I needed my Warrior to know. I wanted him to comfort me and tell me that it would be okay, I wouldn't have to choose and the problem would be resolved for me. But I knew this wouldn't happen.

"Oh." Stark looked away from me for the first time.

"Umm . . . we're gonna leave you guys alone for a while," Damien said, glaring at the Twins when they refused to move, eyes glued to us.

Once they had all left, Stark cleared his throat. "So . . . I guess this is goodbye, then."

My heart stopped, sank and then began thudding rapidly. I really didn't deserve Stark. After all he'd done for me, I was such a horrible person that he assumed I would choose Heath and not him if it really came down to it. This is why I didn't want him to know, but my selfishness got in the way of my common sense.

"Stark . . . No, it's not like that . . . I'm still undecided, I - " My eyes began to fill up.

Stark smiled sadly and pulled me closer to him. "It's ok," he whispered. "I understand, Zoey. You've known Heath all your life. You'd do anything to bring him back. I get it, don't worry."

This was wrong. _He _was comforting _me _because I was going to take his life from him and give it to Heath. This just wasn't fair on him at all.

"Stark, it's not like that at all. I mean, yes, I would do anything to bring Heath back, but I love you and I don't want to give Heath your life. It goes against everything, it's not right. I have to choose you," I sobbed into his chest.

Stark just held me for a long time. Eventually he said, "What do you think is the right thing to do, Zoey?"

"I think Neferet wants me to choose you," I whispered.

"Why?" he wondered aloud.

"I don't know. Maybe because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't choose Heath. But then, it would be the same if I didn't choose you."

"Well . . . I don't know, Z. If you think she wants you to choose me . . . well, it's obvious what you should do."

There it was again. That word. 'Should'. I _should _do the opposite of what Neferet wanted. I _should _choose Heath. And a part of me wanted to. But what if I didn't want to be the one who decided whether things should stay as they were or if they should change? What then?

Stark pulled my chin up so I was looking at him. "I love you, Zoey," he whispered and kissed me so gently he took my breath away. I felt my eyes fill up again, because this kiss was one that really just screamed, _goodbye_.

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**By the way, I still haven't even decided whether Zoey will choose Heath or Stark =] So don't worry yet xD I'm not gonna think about it, I'll just decide when I write it. It usually works out best when it's in the moment 'cause then I'm surprised too =]**

**This chapter was brought to you by the following Taylor Swift songs: Sparks Fly, Innocent, What To Wear, Your Face, Our Last Night and Beautiful Eyes. Yeah, it's pretty amazing how many songs you can listen to when writing one chapter, and when you're obsessed with Taylor Swift. =]**

**Lot's 'O' Love,**

**~TOB**

**x0x0x0x0x0x0x**


	23. Chapter 23

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Sparks Fly and Innocent are definitely gonna be on Taylor's next album, I don't know about the rest of them.

**Follow me on Twitter =] h t t p : / / t w i t t e r . c o m / T o t a l O b s e s s i v e (without the spaces)**

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**_Zoey_**

"Stark, stop," I pleaded.

He was holding me and I was leaning against him. I knew that I was totally messing this up, that I really should have been the one comforting him. I mean, I was the one who was trying to decide whether to keep him alive or not. He had every right to be pissed off with me, to yell at me, to do whatever the hell he wanted, but he chose to comfort me. And I knew that it was wrong but I ignored that feeling and stayed there, leaning against him.

"No. Just tell Neferet that you've made your decision," he said.

No way was I going to go tell Neferet that I wanted her to banish Stark from his body and replace him with Heath. Yet at the same time I wasn't going to tell her to leave Heath in the Otherworld and keep Stark with me.

"No," I whispered.

He took a step away from me so he was looking in my eyes. "Zoey, I don't believe that we'll never see each other again. I think that, if Neferet expects you to choose me, you have to choose Heath, because that's obviously how you can defeat her and Kalona."

I knew he was right, but I still began to protest. There had to be another way. "But Stark, - "

"Zoey, just listen to me." His brown eyes were wide, and were searching for something deep inside me, something he believed I had but I didn't necessarily agree. "You need to bring Heath back here and defeat Kalona and Neferet. And I honestly believe that, once that's done, everything will be okay, you know?"

"No, I don't," I told him.

"It's like ... I don't know how to explain it. I just have this feeling that no matter what, Kalona has to be defeated, and after that everything will be back to normal." He looked at me questioningly. "Do you understand it?"

I sort of did. It sounded like one of the feelings in the pit of my stomach that I used to get from Nyx. Come to think of it, I hadn't actually had one of those since I came back from the Otherworld.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Stark, but I don't want to ... I mean, what if you're wrong? What if I choose Heath and we defeat Kalona and Neferet, but nothing changes and I never see you again?"

Fear flashed prominently in his eyes for a moment, but it was gone as quickly as it had arrived. "I don't know. I don't think I'm wrong, but I guess if that does happen... Well, I suppose it'll still be okay, right?"

I shook my head, staring at him open-mouthed. "No. Stark, how the hell could it be okay if I never saw you again?"

He shrugged. "I doubt you'd never see me again. When Heath died you thought you'd never see him again, but you saw him that time in your dream, and in my body. I'd probably be able to do that too."

He almost had me convinced, but then I recalled the flash of fear. It was slowly returning to his eyes. "Stark, I don't have the power Neferet has to bring you back. It won't work." That was when I realized what the fear in his eyes was about. "Stark ... You'd be stuck there forever. In that place full of Darkness."

Stark bowed his head. "I know." He looked up. "But this feeling ... It's really strong, Z. I believe in you. I really think that you can do this, and fix everything."

Well, that was a lot of pressure on me. But there was something else on my mind at that moment. "Stark, what kind of feeling is it?"

He knew what I meant right away. "It's like this good feeling in my stomach. Why?"

"That's what mine used to feel like."

Had Nyx taken those feelings from me and given them to Stark instead? If so, that was yet another reason to keep him here.

The door opened and Neferet entered. "Hello," she said, so pleasantly that if you didn't know any better you would assume we were old friends. "I've just been wondering if you've made your choice yet, Zoey? I don't have all day."

I didn't look at her, but kept my eyes on Stark. _Have I made my choice? _I wondered. Well, no. And I never would make it. That was the point.

Stark's eyes trapped mine, urging me to tell her to send Stark back to the cold, cruel place that wasn't the Otherworld and to keep Heath, who should have been dead, in his place. But how could I do that? How could I ever decide between the two of them?

Neferet, of course, knew what my hesitation was about. "I'm not going to use the threat, 'if you don't pick one I will'. That way, you'll selfishly still get one of them without having to actually make the decision yourself. So this is my threat: Choose one within the next hour, or have neither."

And she left.

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**It was shorter than usual ... More reviews means longer chapters ;)**

**The songs for Taylor Swift's next album, Speak Now, have been confirmed xD xD Just Google 'Speak Now song list' and it'll come up =]**

**Also, I'm gonna do requests, so if you want me to write about anything HoN, (doesn't have to be Zoey/Stark) or any other books I mentioned on my profile, just ask me =]**

**Don't forget to follow me on Twitter =]**

**It was a year yesterday since my dog died, so this is dedicated to him. R.I.P xxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	24. Chapter 24

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**Thanks =] And sorry JB, here you go xD **

**Anyone watching X Factor? Why the hell is Liam Payne in a group? He's wayy too hot!**

**And yup, Zoey is still pregnant. I'm not gonna say it in every chapter, but she is. **

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I would have updated sooner but I wanted more reviews first ... I want at least 10, okay?

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_Zoey_

My hour was almost up, and I still hadn't made my choice. Heath or Stark? Stark or Heath? I was still just so frustrated that it was me who had to decide. _Why me?_ I never asked for any of this. I never wanted to be Marked. I just wanted to get through school and have a good life with Heath. And when I imagined this life, I never added in having to defeat an immortal fallen angel intent on making me his and killing my friends. All I wanted was to understand geometry.

I flopped down on my bed. I was alone in the dorm that once belonged to me and Stevie Rae. It was still ours, I guess, but even this seemed like a lifetime ago. My life before I was Marked, my life from when I was Marked until Kalona, and my life now all felt like separate lifetimes. It was weird.

I couldn't believe how tired I was. It had been some time since I'd had a nice, peaceful, non-stressed sleep. _The stress probably isn't good for the baby, either _I found myself thinking. Great. My subconscious was sensibly dealing with that already while I was just putting it off, telling myself to do everything else first, then think about that.

_Stop getting distracted_ I told myself. _You only have a few minutes left. Make the right choice. _

But how could I possibly do that? How was there a 'right choice'? How could anything be right about killing my consort or Warrior, and permitting the other to live? Exactly. There wasn't any right, but there was a whole lot of wrong.

Why me, though? Who said, 'hey, let's dump all this crap on Zoey, she'll deal with it'? Whoever it was, I'd like to have a few words with them. Yeah, I didn't want to decide whether Stark or Heath should stay here with me, but if I didn't Neferet would. And knowing her, she'd probably add a twist because I hadn't decided.

Like I said. Unfair.

I closed my eyes. From what I'd seen, Neferet wanted Stark to stay here. Honestly? So did I. I loved Heath. But he had made his choices in life - he'd chosen to stick by me, and it killed him. Stark made the same choice, but he lived. It was just how it had happened. So who was I to mess with fate? Stark should stay and Heath should go. That would have been the fairest thing to do, I guess.

But then there was the fact that Neferet wanted Stark, so what could I do? Obviously, Heath was what I needed to defeat Kalona. So I had to mess with that kind of stuff. Maybe it could work, though. Maybe, if I chose Heath I would be able to find a way to get Stark back once all this Kalona business was over and done with.

There was a brief tap at the door, and Neferet entered. She was followed by Stark, Stevie Rae, Damien, Jack, Shaunee, Erin, Aphrodite and Darius. The Twins, Jack and Aphrodite shot me questioning looks which I ignored. Stark smiled encouragingly, but it didn't meet his eyes. Stevie Rae, Damien and Darius looked like they were sorry for me.

"Hello, Zoey," Neferet said pleasantly. "I hope you have used the time I so kindly gave you to figure out who you couldn't live with out? Or should I say who you couldn't survive without?" The look she gave me was clearly testing, seeing how I would react to her saying that I didn't really care for Stark or Heath, I just kept them around for my own benefit. I was pretty damn proud of myself for keeping cool and meeting her eyes steadily.

"Well?" Neferet prompted. "I was hoping you could actually let me know whether I have to go to the trouble of banished Stark or just leaving him here."

I looked at Stark for a long moment, and that look seemed to say everything that I couldn't say with Neferet there. His eyes remained gentle and loving, enveloping me in their warmth. After that, I couldn't look at him or anyone else anymore. I kept my eyes on the ground. "I choose Heath," I whispered.

I looked up in time to see Neferet's wicked look of triumph. Stark collapsed and my friends were all looking at me, shocked. I guess they had just assumed I would be more feeling and humane, and just leave things as they were clearly meant to be.

With a high, totally undeniably triumphant laugh, Neferet fled from the room.

As Stark's body stirred, I turned to my friends, horrified. "I made the wrong choice, didn't I?"

"Hate to say it, Z, but yeah. I think you did," said Shaunee.

"I knew you'd pick Heath," Aphrodite added. "Honestly, I thought it was the right choice, but I guess it wasn't."

"No," I said, grasping at straws. "Maybe she just wants us to think that. I made the right choice - _we _made the right choice. Stark was who she wanted to stay." I could already feel my eyes filling up.

"Zoey," Damien was saying. "Zoey, Neferet doesn't pretend when there's nothing to hide behind. She could have been pretending earlier, because she could have hidden behind her bluff. But now? The choice has been made. There's nowhere to hide, and she's not stupid. She wouldn't bother trying."

Although I was shaking my head as he said it, I knew deep down that he was right. If I had really, really though about it, yeah. Stark could have helped out more than Heath. He had the extra strength that came with being a vampyre. He could kill people with his mind. What could Heath do? Nothing.

The decision I thought was right wasn't. And I knew that it was too late. Kalona was winning because of this. I was losing. I needed to figure out how to get Stark back, and fast.

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**So? Do you trust me enough to keep reading? =]**

**Songs that fueled my brain for this chapter: 1. Michael Buble, Hollywood. 2. My Chemical Romance, Na Na Na. 3. Taylor Swift, Mine. 4. Paramore, Ignorance.**

**~TOB**


	25. Chapter 25

**Woah.. Okay, wasn't expecting that many reviews so quickly! Thanks so, so much guys! I love you =] And I'm gonna shut up now and get on with it xD**_**

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Erik

Erik was sitting in Grandma Redbird's living room. He was staring at a blank TV screen, next to a warm fire that made the room feel very cosy and comfortable. The last few days had literally been hell. He had spent most of his time in here, just sitting, and staring at nothing.

He wished that Zoey - or any one of them, for that matter - would just hurry up and call him already. He was really worried about them, and too scared to ring them in case something big was happening and he would get the blame for spoiling everything in their big, ultimate defeat of Kalona.

So here he was, just sitting, alone with his thoughts. And he had recently discovered that being alone with your thoughts was a very dangerous thing indeed. Everything he did his best not to think of, he thought of. Like Kalona, and how he had somehow managed to hypnotize Erik. Erik could remember with clarity the sensation that had overcome him while Kalona rummaged through his mind. And always at the back of his mind was how he was feeling a trickle of that sensation all over again, several times a day.

Kalona was supposed to be gone, banished, whatever. Erik had sort of assumed that whatever Zoey had done to him had weakened him in some shape or form, but obviously he wasn't weak enough to stay out of Erik's head. And why _could _he do this? How could he get inside Erik's mind and do whatever he wanted? Was it only Erik he could do this to, or could he do it to anyone? If it were the latter, he should probably warn Zoey.

Zoey. That, right there, was the reason he was so annoyed. Scared. Confused. Angry. While the Kalona problem was cemented at the very back of his mind, Zoey Redbird was what was always at the forefront of Erik's mind.

And he still didn't know what it was exactly that he felt for her. He thought that he loved her, but he didn't know whether it was as a friend or as more than that. And sometimes he just downright hated the girl who haunted his dreams. He loved her because she was beautiful, powerful and totally in control. But he hated her for those reasons too. And for what she had put him through, with Heath in the beginning, always there, clouding every memory - then Loren, probably even worse than Heath, and now with Stark. Even though Erik and Zoey weren't together anymore, it still hurt. Just as Zoey had given up on Stark and had gone back to Erik, Stark returned to her life and planned on permanently staying there, taunting Erik with what he had almost had.

Heath was gone. Loren was gone. The path would have been clear, so to speak, for Erik, but no.

Who would have thought that Erik Night would be so obsessed with one girl, just like that? Because if he was honest with himself, he could admit it. He had always loved Zoey. He had always wanted her. From that first moment when their eyes met that day in the corridor, he knew that there was something special about her - and that was before he saw the filled in Mark. No, he had known that there was just something, well, _different_about Zoey. She had something, and he wanted to know what exactly it was. After knowing her for a couple of months, he still didn't know what that was, but he was still eager to find out.

Erik didn't realize how hard he was clenching his fist until Grandma Redbird came in.

"Erik! What are you doing? Your hand!" she exclaimed, rushing towards him.

He followed her eyes, almost in a dreamlike state, and realized that his hand looked like bone. It was pure white, and even after he unclenched it and relaxed it remained white for some time. "Sorry," he said.

Grandma Redbird studied him closely. "Are you alright, Erik dear?"

He blew out a long breath and nodded. "Yep. I'm fine. Have you heard anything ... ?" he trailed off as Grandma Redbird shook her head sadly. Erik asked that question every five minutes, and the answer was always the same. No, she had not had any contact with Zoey and the others.

Erik nodded again. "Right."

"Well, no news is good news, I suppose."

"Yeah," Erik agreed, not really listening. Because that sensation was coming over him again - Kalona. Whatever Zoey had done, it hadn't worked. Kalona could still get to Erik, still attempt, if not succeed, to hypnotize him.

Great. As if he hadn't been worried enough. Zoey and the others, for all he knew, were in huge trouble. And now Kalona was trying to hypnotize him. What if Kalona was angry about what Zoey had done and wanted to get revenge by using Erik to trap her? Erik didn't want that. Even if he had been hypnotized and it wasn't really his doing, he would still have to live with the guilt of the aftermath for much longer than a normal, non-vampyre person.

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_**Zoey**_

Now that I actually thought about it, yeah, of course Stark would have been the right choice. I loved Heath. But realistically, what could he do to help us? Remind me of Stark and what I did to him every time I turned around? Because of me, he was trapped in that horrible, horrible place full of Darkness.

And Stark? He could kill people with his mind - kill mortals with his mind, which, admittedly, wouldn't have worked for Kalona. But he could have taken Neferet out of the picture for us! What the hell had I been on? Why hadn't I thought it through before I jumped to conclusions and assumed that Neferet wanted Heath?

Yup, from all the signs she'd given, anyone would have assumed that Neferet was trying to trick me. Anyone with common sense, that is. But common sense, as they say, isn't that common. I knew that I couldn't trust her, but I'd let her trick me, just like she did in Italy. Had I learned from that huge mistake? No. Of course not. Because I suck.

"Zo, did you decide who you're gonna keep here?" Heath asked, getting up from the floor.

Eight pairs of eyes flashed at him and he shut up quickly.

"You picked me? But ... why? I thought ... " he trailed off and my heart squeezed. Why was I such a cruel person? Both Stark and Heath had assumed I would choose the other. They both loved me so much that they were willing to sacrifice themselves for me, and I hadn't given them anything in return.

"She thought Neferet wanted her to keep Stark, so she picked _you_," Aphrodite said, giving Heath a somewhat dirty look. "But Zoey was, once again, _wrong_and Neferet actually wanted you to stay here 'cause you can't do anything to help us. No offense," she added after a warning glance from me.

Heath shrugged. "Yeah, I can't do anything, I know. I'm not a vampyre, I can't - wait, am I a vamp now?"

I thought about it. "Well, I guess you would be, wouldn't you? You've got a vampyre's body." As I said it I could feel my throat contracting. Yeah, a vamp's body. Stark's body. How I could even have considered torturing myself by choosing Heath I will never know. I didn't want to turn around and instantly be reminded of Stark and what I subjected him to every five minutes. It was just too much.

"So what do we do now?" Stevie Rae asked. "I mean, we can't get Stark back, can we? No offense Heath, I mean, it's great that you're back and all, it's just that with Stark we might have a _slightly _better chance of taking Neferet out of the equation, and possibly Kalona, I don't know, but -"

"Yeah, I totally get it, Stevie Rae," Heath interrupted her. "And I agree, we need to give Stark his body back." He looked at me, and seven pairs of eyes followed his steady gaze.

Yup. Once again, everyone said, 'Let Zoey figure it out. She knows what to do.' Well, guess what? _I didn't know what to do. _I never did. So why the hell did everyone always just assume that I did? Because of the Marks Nyx gave me? They meant virtually nothing. They didn't make me any smarter, wiser more powerful. They were just _there_. Another feature of my weirdness.

I shouldn't have been the one left in charge of these important decisions. They had all already seen that I never made the right one. So why not just accept that I wasn't Amazing, Perfect Zoey and get on with making the choices themselves? The _right_ ones, no doubt. Because if we knew one thing for sure, it was that I sucked at these things.

So for once, I didn't push that persistent thought to the back of my mind and try desperately to think of something, anything, to satisfy my friends. I just decided to go straight for it and ask them. "Why do you guys bother asking me again and again when you see me making the wrong choices every day?"

They all looked shocked. "Why wouldn't we, Z?" Damien asked quietly. "Sure, you make a couple of wrong decisions now and again, everybody does. But you've got the right intentions. And they always work out for us in the end."

There were faint murmurs of agreement.

"Plus, you've got that whole instinct thing, remember? The sort of gift thing?" Erin added.

For some reason, at that time Erin startled me. I hadn't had much time to think about it properly, but I wasn't really sure that I still had that feeling anymore. I don't know, maybe Nyx transferred it to Stark or something, but I really didn't think that I still had it. I hadn't had a warning for ages . . . That was why I had trusted Neferet in Italy and that was why I was in this dilemma right now. If I had had that feeling in Italy, my best guess is we would have demolished Neferet while banishing Kalona and I would be here now, with my friends and Stark without the obstacle of Neferet in our way. The path would be clear to Kalona.

However, admiring my boldness of asking them the first question, I decided to ignore this hunch and get on with forming a plan. Looking back, yes, I should have told them. But it wasn't a major worry back then. At that time, I knew two things for sure.

One, if we were to get rid of Kalona, we needed to get to Neferet first.

And two, I needed to get Stark back. And fast.

* * *

**_Stark _**

Although Zoey had chosen Heath like Stark had wanted her to, he couldn't help but feel a little upset. Rejected. But he tried to block out that feeling - it's what had stopped him from saving Zoey's soul and Heath the last time. If he wanted to be a successful, good Warrior, he had to try his best to ignore his feelings for Zoey when he had to and not let them get in his way.

Stark quickly closed his eyes when Zoey whispered, 'I choose Heath,' waiting for that familiar, sinking feeling to overcome him. And it did, just as he had expected. Still, like the last time, he didn't end up in the Otherworld. He was in _that place _again. Stark's stomach dropped as hopelessness overwhelmed him. He fell, broken, to the floor and just lay there for an unknown unit of time - it could have been seconds, minutes, hours, days. Then, just when all hope had abandoned him, he saw it.

First he thought it was his eyes playing tricks on him - there was no one else here. He was surrounded by Darkness, there was no way that was a light in front of him. How far in front of him he didn't know. It was his eyes - they were still adjusting, that was it. He shouldn't get his non-existant hopes up.

However, as it came closer, he had to accept that what was coming towards him was an admittedly faint, but definite glow. He wasn't scared. He embraced the light. Anything was better than this Darkness.

But as the light came nearer and nearer, it's form rapidly changed. Stark was not frightened of the Darkness anymore; he knew that here he was alone and no one could hurt him. Besides Neferet if she really wanted to, he guessed. But this was either Neferet's doing, in which case, yes, it would definitely hurt him, or it wasn't supposed to be here, which was even worse. What if it was worse than Neferet?

As the light came nearer, it started to resemble a person. A woman.

A woman that Stark recognized as his goddess, Nyx.

"Nyx?" he asked, completely dumbfounded. Was this some sort of dream or hallucination? A trick, even? Because there was no way the goddess that resembled everything about Light could ever be in a place so absorbed in Darkness.

"Hello, Stark," Nyx replied, smiling at him. Her voice sounded like the tinkle of wind chimes.

"What are you doing here?" Stark blurted before he could stop himself. "I - I mean, this is so Dark, and you're so ... not?"

Nyx nodded. "I know. It is a terrible strain for me to be here, if I am honest. Neferet's powers are much stronger than I thought - in some ways, almost equal to mine, but for the wrong reasons."

"I knew she was powerful, but I had no idea it was _that _much." Stark said quietly.

Nyx smiled sadly. "That is why I decided to come to you. I initially temporarily took away the gift I gave Zoey - the one that helped her know whether something was right or wrong. I had her best intentions at heart, and I wanted her to have the confidence that she could make the right choices without my guidance. However, Zoey has yet to find this confidence. So I passed her gift to you. Zoey, thankfully, took some notice of what you said, but when I gave you the freedom of an opinion untainted by me, you also made the wrong choice, and therefore so did Zoey."

"Wait ... What do you mean?"

"I mean," Nyx stressed, "That Zoey was supposed to save you. Not Heath Luck. Think about it, Stark. You can help them much more than he can. Zoey doesn't know the extent of her own power yet. But if she sets her mind to it, she will be able to take you out of here and bring you back to her. Heath will return to me in the Otherworld, where he rightly belongs."

Stark smiled. "That's great. Then we just need to defeat Kalona."

Nyx's smile faded. "Yes, but there is a time limit."

"What? Why?"

"Neferet set this up. She makes the rules. And she has set a time limit. If you are here for a certain amount of time, you will disappear."

"You mean die?" Stark asked reproachfully.

Nyx shook her head, and her long hair swung sadly with it. "No. You will just disappear. Dissolve into nothingness."

"How long will this take?" Stark was getting very anxious.

"Only Neferet knows that. Besides, it won't have an impact on you. Only on the outside world. There is no time here. You will have no way of knowing."

The tiny flicker of hope that had risen when Stark saw Neferet died out.

"I am very sorry, Stark, but I must leave now. Neferet's power is already so great that it is actually hard for me to remain here. Don't worry, I am confident that Zoey will figure out how to bring you back very soon. And when she does, do not forget to tell her that Kalona will not give in until she is his, or until she is dead. Since I doubt very much that Zoey will willingly go to him, she has no choice but to kill him."

"Does it have to be Zoey?" Stark asked, longing to finish Kalona off himself.

Neferet grimaced. "Yes. To completely defeat Kalona's will, he must know that the woman he loves is the one who will kill him. And he won't believe it until he sees it carried through. Tell Zoey that I am very sorry."

"I will," Stark said as the glow that was Nyx began to shrink. "And - Nyx? Thank you."

Nyx only smiled as she disappeared.

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**This was just under 3,000 words =] I made it longer because of all the reviews I got, and since I had hardly any free time it took a couple of days longer to update than it should have, so sorry =[ **

**I wrote this while listening to Nigahiga's parody of Like A G6, it's called Like A Good Boy. Youtube it =] **

**'Get get get get, Get those bottles right now I can recycle those  
Taking off my shirt so I can DONATE SOME CLOTHES!' - Nigahiga xP**

**~TOB  
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x**


	26. Chapter 26

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Thanks for all the reviews guys =) I reread parts of Tempted and Burned recently, so I'm getting back into the House of Night mood xD

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**_Zoey_**

So. As a general summary, Stark was what we really needed to defeat Kalona - he could take Neferetout of the equation. But, because of my stupid decision, he was gone. And Heathwas here in his place. Heath, who should rightfully be dead and _not _in the body of a dead, undead vampyre. Neferet knew that Stark was gone, and she knew that she was well on her way to winning this dispute so she could essentially take over the world and make humans her slaves and stuff.

I had no clue of Kalona's whereabouts, only that he was bound by earthsomewhere - and in all honesty, how much closer did that bring us to finding him? And, back to Heath... What terms came with his being in Stark's body? There was no way he had Stark's affinity because Nyxmarked our souls, not our bodies, and Heath didn't have Stark's soul. But, if Nyxmarked our souls, Heath couldn't be a vampyre because his soul was not marked. He was simply in Stark's shell.

Stark had told me that he was practically impossible to kill. I was really frustrated now. Did that mean Heath would now be virtually impossible to kill, too, or would the whole 'him having a human soul' thing mess that up?

Did Neferet want me to go insane and end up being admitted to a sanitarium? Because that seemed to be the road I was going down.

I had collapsed onto my bed, frustrated. "Hey, Zo, you okay?" Heath asked, coming towards me. He rubbed my back worriedly, and I jerked away.

"Zo?" he asked. Crap, now I felt really bad. I could see the hurt in his eyes - no, _Stark's _eyes. That's what made it so weird. "I'm sorry, Heath, I just can't," I whispered, willing him to understand. I guess he did, because he nodded and turned to my friends like I did.

They were, once again, staring at me, also worried. The atmosphere? It was as thick as cold custard. I knew I had to do something, suggest something that could help us. But I really felt as if I just didn't have that ability anymore.

"Guys?" I asked them. "Suggestions would be appreciated."

Damien was looking at me with a calculating expression. "Damien?" I prompted, turning everyones attention to my gay friend.

"Well ... Listen, I don't know if this is going to work, so don't get your hopes up. Okay?" he was ignoring everyone but me.

I nodded.

"First of all, did you hear any of what Neferet said whenever she was switching the soul of whoever was in Stark's body?" he was speaking slowly, as if I was a child who couldn't possibly keep up but insisted anyway.

"Not really. What did she say?"

"She kept calling Darkness to aid her. And 'darkness' didn't seem to just be, you know, a thing. She spoke like it was a person."

"Okay?" I asked, not sure why this was relevant.

"Z!" Stevie Rae yelled.

"What?" I asked her, annoyed now.

"You can do what she does!" She seemed really excited, and I didn't want to ruin this happy mood she had going on, but I had to.

"Well, thanks a lot. I can't call Darkness, Stevie Rae. I'm not all evil and Neferet-like."

Stevie Rae just rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. But you've got Light."

It took me a while to realize that she was using personification, and by the time I'd figured it out everyone was looking at me expectantly. "Wait ... You want me to do what she does ... Only using Light instead of Darkness." It wasn't a question.

Damien smiled knowingly.

"But ... But I can't! What if it doesn't work? What if something goes wrong? What if - ?"

Aphrodite cut me off. "It's worth a shot. Whatever happens, it'll be better than what's happening to him now." She gave me a meaningful look, and my stomach dropped as I remembered the dark place Stark had described. "Come on, " Aphrodite smiled. "Let's go get Mr. Pain In The Ass Arrows back."

I took a deep breath and began to ask Spirit to help me use Light when Damien shouted, "No!"

"What?" I asked him.

"Not yet. If Neferet finds out, it could be dangerous. We need to plan out what to do first."

"Yeah, you're right," I realized. "Well, what'll we need to do when he gets back? If," I corrected myself automatically. As Damien had said, there was no point getting my hopes up. It might not work, Stark might not come back. And that would be my fault. All my fault.

"No, when," Heath said determinedly from beside me. I smiled, my eyes kinda teary. He really did love me.

"Okay. So what do we need to plan? How I'll call Light?" I directed the question to all my friends, but mainly Damien and Darius.

"No," Damien answered instantly, then looked to Darius for confirmation. The warrior nodded. "That should be left alone - it'll come naturally to you, we shouldn't have to plan it."

"Okay. Anything else we need to go over, then?"

"You need to decide what to do with Stark when he gets here," Darius said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little suspicious.

"Well, it is my guess that Neferet would realize what happened before long. And she'd come here, and then what?"

"I wouldn't be able to get to Stark," I realized. "Ever again. Neferet wouldn't allow it."

Damien nodded solemnly. "So we need a plan," he concluded for me.

Simultaneously, it seemed, my friends all sat in a circle on the floor. I slid off the bed with Heath to join them, completing the circle. And we just sat there, like that, in silence for a while. No words really needed to be spoken. It was reassuring to know that my friends were racking their brains for me. For Stark.

Then Stevie Rae, my best friend who didn't like Stark but was willing to save him for me (and the world, I guess) spoke. "You need a link with him," she said. "So you can like, you know, keep in touch with him when Neferet sends him back."

"What do you mean?"

"Zoey, Imprint with him!" Jack said, then laughed. "It's so obvious!"

"Am I missing something?" I asked. "How can that help? Plus, I'm Imprinted with Erik. I'm annoyed with him, but the last thing I want to do is hurt him."

"Z, think about it. The Imprint plus the Warrior Bond will be so, so strong! You'd have to be able to keep track of him when he's in the Otherworld or ... wherever else," Damien beamed.

"But Imprints break when one of the holders dies," I said, purposely not looking at Heath.

"But he's not dead, his soul's just absent like yours was. This has to work!" Damien said.

My friends all seemed really excited about this, so I agreed. We'd try it. But then there were a lot of important matters we had to discuss. We had to find the fledglings who burned. We had to find out why Neferet killed Cassie. We had to find out why A-ya left my body without complaint. And we had to find out why Nyx had guided me towards Neferet when she was downright evil. It was as wrong as manboobs.

Then I felt it. Relief, hope, happiness. Although I was feeling this too, I knew it wasn't coming from me. Then it clicked withme - how could I have forgotten? How could I have forgotten that moment when A-ya was occupying my soul and went with Kalona to the High Council? When the reason I broke away was because I had felt Stark's emotions? I had known, somehow, that Nyx wanted me to have that for the future ... For this.

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**A little on the short side, but the more reviews, the longer the chapter =)**

**It's coming up to a year since I started Burned, so on the 28th I'm going to post an extra, extra long chapter =) As long as people review, that is ;)**

**Love you guys,**

**TOB  
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	27. Chapter 27

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**Yep, I knew you guys would be confused xP Don't you remember what happened in (my) Burned? For the Stark thing, check Chapter 27 of Burned. For the A-ya thing, check Chapter 33. For the thing about fledglings being burned, check chapter 3 of Stolen, and in Stolen check Chapter 6 for the Cassie thing. If you've also forgotten that Zoey didn't get bad feelings from Nyx, you haven't been paying attention at all, I've mentioned it so many times. I know it's been like almost a year since some of you would have read some of these things, though, so you guys are excused. The rest of you - SHAME xP**

**So I was thinking... In the end of the series, I'm pretty sure Zoey's gonna end up with Erik. I mean, he's the only guy that's still alive who was in it from the start, and even after Stark came back into it Zoey and Erik were still on and off. Plus, if the Casts only introduced Stark in the beginning as a love interest for Stevie Rae, they couldn't have planned for him to end up with Zoey. And this realization made me angry so I'm now more than ever die-hard Team STARK.**

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_Zoey_

Once we had talked everything through and were getting ready to call Stark's soul back, I found that I was actually pretty excited. Exchanging blood with Stark was sure to be a very hot experience. Plus, since I came back from the Otherworld Stark and I hadn't had much time to ourselves, what with all the Kalona and Neferet stuff. So this would be good for us.

Of course, it took me a while to remember Heath, and once I did, I instantly didn't want to Imprint with Stark at all. I mean, here I was, totally prepared to banish the soul of my best childhood friend, who was really so much more than that, for the soul of a guy I'd met only a month ago. And, yeah, it could be argued that it was for the greater good, to save the world, and whatever. But honestly? That was gone from my mind for a while as I thought of Imprinting with Stark.

Heath had known me since forever, so it was no surprise that he could see how I was feeling. He came up behind me to give me a hug. "Zo, I think you're doing the right thing," he said for what felt like the hundredth time.

I nodded, trying my best not to recoil from what were Stark's arms. "Yeah, I know. That's what everyone's saying. And I think it's the right thing, too, but somewhere deep down it feels kind of wrong."

Before he had time to reply, Damien was talking to me. "I think we're all ready now, Z. So whenever you want ... "

I nodded again, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, okay. Let's go."

Damien, Stevie Rae and the Twins got into their places around me. I had insisted on using our circle as an extra source of power, just in case we needed it. Which we most likely would, as I was expecting Neferet to jump in on us at any moment. I needed all the strength I could get.

I started with Damien, as usual. As I lit his yellow candle that symbolised air, I said, "Air, I call you to our circle, and ask that you guard us with winds of insight. Come to me, air!" Damien's candle flared to life, and we felt wind lift our hair playfully.

I turned to Shaunee on my right and said, "I call fire to our circle and ask that it burn brilliantly with the light of might and passion, bringing both to guard and aid us. Come to me, fire!" Before I could get the lighter to the red candle, the wick burst into a flickering white light. Shaunee grinned. "Sorry," she mumbled.

I went to Erin next. "I call water to this circle and ask that you guard us with your oceans of mystery and majesty, and nurture us as your rain does the grass and the trees. Come to me, water!" As soon as I touched the lighter to the blue candle, it was like I had been transported to the shores of a lake. I could smell the water and feel it cool against my skin, soothing me after experiencing the heat of Shaunee's element.

I finally walked to Stevie Rae. "I call earth to this circle, and ask that you guard us with the strength of stone and the richness of wheat-filled fields. Come to me, earth!" Suddenly I could smell freshly cut grass, flowers and hear birdsong.

I walked back to the centre of the circle and lit the purple candle. "Lastly, I call spirit to our circle and ask that you join us in bringing insight and truth with you, so that we can be guided by integrity. Come to me, spirit!" The purple candle blazed brighter than even Shaunee's had, and I felt like I was washed in all the four elements all at once.

Everything was ready. I looked at each of my friends, including Heath. He winked and smiled, making me feel really bad again. I supressed a groan. "Air, fire, water, earth and spirit. I need your help. I need to to gather everything you have - everything that's good. I need you to do this so I can call back the soul of James Stark to his body that has been taken by Darkness. I need you to help me overcome this Darkness and keep it away from him for as long as you can. Please help me."

I felt the elements swirl around me in confirmation, and felt a rush of happiness. This could work! This could really work. Together with the elements, my friends and I could actually defeat Neferet and Kalona. This was just the first step.

"Thank you," I said to the elements. "Now please focus all your positive energy on the body of James Stark." I turned to face Heath and so did my friends. We all focused on him, so our elements would follow. "Surround him and completely envelope him. Show him everything that's good. And now, slowly, gently, carefully, please remove the soul of Heath Luck. Transport him to the Otherworld where he will be safe and at peace." I could feel my eyes filling up, but refused to cry.

Heath smiled at me, and then he closed his eyes. I saw the exact moment when he left. Was it forever? Was that really the last time I'd ever see him? I didn't want to lose him - I hadn't even said goodbye!

But I stamped down on my emotions and chanelled them into the elements. I needed Stark.

"Thank you. Now call the soul of James Stark to his empty shell. Carry him slowly, gently and carefully like you did with Heath. Let him know that it's safe to come back," I said in my High Priestess voice, still resisting the tears that were threatening to spill over.

What happened next was extraordinary. I could actually physically see the elements swirling around Stark as he rose from the floor (his body had, of couse, fallen once Heath had left it). It was amazing. I turned to my friends, and found that they were all either looking at me in astonishment or gawping at it themselves. So it wasn't just me losing my sanity.

"That is astounding," Damien said, looking at me. I couldn't do anything but nod.

Erin started to laugh nervously. I looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Don't you get it, Z?" she asked incredulously. "We've obviously done it! We've defeated Neferet's Darkness thing!"

I smiled back, but I wasn't sure about whether she was right or not. It was too easy, for a start. But beside that, Neferet's Darkness was so great that it would probably be very hard, if not impossible to completely defeat it. I doubted we had very much time with Stark, Neferet was sure to realize what had happened before long. So I put everything else aside for the moment and, once again entering my High Priestess mode that strangely seemed to be becoming my normal, I moved towards Stark.

I reached him quickly, and steadied him as he swayed on his feet. "Stark? Is it you?"

He nodded, gritting his teeth. "Yup. It's me. What the hell just happened?"

"We brought you back," I explained, only now fully realizing that he was here, he was back with us. He was back with me. We'd actually managed to do it. "We brought you back through Light, you know, because Neferet was using Darkness. We did it though the circle." At this point I smiled. It was one of those moments where you truly appreciate your friends and are on the edge of you sanity.

But Stark burst my bubble of happiness with his frown. "What?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about this. Like, a super bad feeling. A warning, maybe? I don't know. I shouldn't be here, that's all." He looked at me, and his eyes were full of pain. "I'm sorry, Z. I know you went to loads of trouble to bring me back, and I seriously do appreciate it, but I'm thinking of you here, I want to protect you. So you really should try to just -"

"I can feel them," I blurted. You know in movies and books, when people claim that they 'couldn't help it'? 'Don't know what came over them'? And you're thinking, well, damn, if only there was something in your head that could control what comes out of your mouth. Well, that's what had just happened to me. It just came out, somehow. My subconscious must have meant for it, 'cause my conscious sure as hell didn't.

But Stark was the only person who could have possibly understood what I meant, and he did. He wasn't my Warrior for nothing.

"Feel what, Z?" he asked slowly, understanding and uncertainty in his eyes.

"I think it's your emotions. Like the way you feel mine." My eyes didn't leave his. Everything else had faded away and lost any importance it once may have held. This was all that mattered.

Stark nodded slowly, a small smile on his lips. "They just come out of nowhere. They're not connected to you, yet somehow they're a part of you. They're unexpected and you don't know if they annoy you or if you like feeling them."

It was amazing how accurate he was. I smiled back at him, nodding. "That's it. I can feel them. And I know that they're yours, somehow."

Suddenly Stark laughed and hugged me. "Thank you," he whispered in my ear, and I never asked him what exactly it was that he was thanking me for. I had unknowingly switched to my normal self again, and needed to resume my High Priestess mode if I wanted everything to run smoothly.

After hugging Stark back for a moment, I stepped back and gave him a long, meaningful look. "You're right about this being wrong. Neferet's going to discover that you're gone soon, and she won't be happy. We don't have much time, so I need to hurry. I need you to trust me and do what I ask you to do. Okay?"

Stark's gaze trapped mine as he nodded again.

"Right," I said, turning in the general direction of Damien and Darius, the two brains. "What do we do?"

Darius was the one who answered me. "Imprint. As soon as possible."

I took a deep breath and turned to Stark, preparing myself for the resistance. Therefore, I was surprised when all I could see on his dace (and feel) was acceptance. My surprise must have registered on my face, for he shrugged and grinned, saying, "What? It's not like I don't want to. And it's probably the right thing to do."

I smiled proudly. "Yeah, it is. Apparently if we're Imprinted on top of the Warrior Bond we'll have a seriously close connection that will probably get extremely annoying in the future, but if it helps now then it'll be worth it."

"Most likely," Stark agreed, smirking.

"So, umm..." Damien began. I looked at him. "It'd probably be best if you went somewhere else for the Imprint." He then gave me a very meaningful Look, and I felt my cheeks getting hot. I knew I was completely red as I nodded awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, probably," I muttered.

Stark laughed, full and loud, then grabbed my hand and started to pull me from the room, but Aphrodite stopped him. "You're already in Zoey's room," she reminded him, and if it was at all possible my face grew even redder.

"We can go to another room, it really doesn't matter," I tried to convince my friends. Typically, they declined my offer.

"No, it's okay, Z, we'll leave," Shaunee said, and she led the rest of them from the room. Stevie Rae left last, and she closed the door without even looking behind her.

What followed was the loudest silence I ever encountered.

"So, we should probably do this quickly in case Neferet ..." I said without making eye contact. Don't get me wrong here, I wanted to Imprint with Stark more than anything right at that moment. But I had experience with Imprints. They triggered certain hormones that I didn't particularly want triggered.

"Yeah, we should," Stark replied, and I could hear a smile in his voice so I looked up. Sure enough, he was smiling, but it disappeared when he saw my expression. "What's wrong?" he asked, genuinely worried. "We really don't have to do this if you don't want to. I know you're still really upset about Heath and - "

That. Right there. That, the mention of Heath, is what made me upset. It would have been nice to say that I didn't feel up to commiting to an Imprint so soon after Heath died. But the truth is less flattering, yet it is still the truth. The truth was that I wasn't thinking of Heath at all.

Who was I thinking of? Erik.

Yup. Of all people, Erik. The ex-boyfriend who was possessive, controlling, a world class jerk. And he was what was on my mind when I thought about Imprinting with Stark. Erik had hurt me several times, some of them intentional and others not. However they all added up and resulted in a very angry, hormone-driven teenage girl. So why was I reluctant to Imprint with somebody else? No, I told myself. I didn't feel anything for him, that wasn't it. I did know that, although he had hurt me so many times, I was unwilling to hurt him by breaking our Imprint.

That was what I knew, but I also realized that if I didn't want to hurt him, then I must have felt _something _for him, right? Even hating requires caring, and somehow, having gone through so much with him, I discovered that I didn't hate Erik Night at all. I was unsure of what my feelings for him were, but I didn't hate him. I didn't think I loved him either, but hate was something that was definitely not there.

If I was so uncertain, should I really be Imprinting with somebody else? Was now really the right time? I didn't have a clue. But I did know that there was a world that needed saving, and that could possibly depend on this Imprint.

With this in mind, I look up at Stark and shook my head. "No," I said. "I'm not thinking of Heath," I confirmed, deciding that honesty, in this case, was the best policy. "I'm thinking about how forming this Imprint will break the one I have with Erik."

For a split second, Stark looked hurt, but he did a good job of covering it up. "You don't want to break that one?"

"No!" I defended myself immediately, instinctively. "I just don't want to hurt him."

Stark stared at me for a long time before taking my hand again and leading my to the sofa on the other side of the room. "Zoey, I'm not trying to sound jealous and possessive and stuff, okay? But . . . why? Why do you care about him, after all he's done to you?"

Both of my hands were now in his. "I . . . I don't know. I just know that when I Imprinted with Loren, it hurt Heath a lot. I don't want anyone to experience that, not even Erik." Instead of avoiding Stark's eyes, I kept looking into them as I spoke, and found this somewhat easier to speak to him.

Stark smiled warmly. "You really are amazing, you know," he murmured, as he began to lean down and our lips locked. I hadn't realized how much I had missed him until that moment. Because at that moment, I needed him like a drowning man needs air. We didn't stop kissing for a long time. When we finally did, I was more like a drowning man than I thought. I was gasping for breath, and so was he.

"You've got to stop doing that," I warned him. "We really do need to get this Imprint going. Because the whole human race is kinda depending on us, even if they don't all know it. So, whenever you're ready . . . " Unsure of which part of my body I should offer for him to bite, I stuck out my wrist. "Go ahead."

Laughing, he held my wrist in one hand and waved out his other hand, which I held. I think we bit each other at the same time.

Instead of focusing on his blood, I was at first watching him. We held each others eyes as firmly as we held each others wrists, each watching the other as we drank. Then, sometime later, I heard a moan. I later realized that it had come from me. From that moment, I stopped watching him as the full impact of his blood hit me.

I had tasted it once before, and it was just as amazing then. Now, I felt as though I needed it more than ever. All that I could see, hear, smell, taste, feel, was his blood. Everything else faded away into nothingness as the salty taste of Stark's blood exploded like fireworks in my mouth. It tasted rich, pure somehow. I really couldn't describe it. Then it felt as though there was something wrapping gently but firmly around us, binding us together. It was a wonderful feeling.

And it was over all too soon.

Stark was the one who pulled away. I was snapped back to reality, away from the world I had been in while draining Stark's blood. We looked at each other for a few minutes, then he fell back against the sofa, chuckling. "I thought we'd never stop," he told me.

I shrugged. "I doubt I ever would have, if you hadn't."

I fell back beside him, and he turned to me. "Your blood is different," he said.

I snorted. I was taken aback by how much I sounded like Aphrodite, but let it go for now. "Different? As in good different or bad different?"

"Good different," Stark answered in the positive. "Definitely good different. It's like . . . Look, you know about me and my past. You know that I've had, well, experience in tasting girls' blood, right?"

I nodded, not really trusting myself to speak.

"Well none of them could even compare to how your blood tastes. It's really mind blowing," he smiled.

I laughed. "Mind blowing? Thanks, I guess. Yours was awesome, too. I kind of lost it for a while there."

Stark nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that. How long were we actually sucking each others arms for?"

I shrugged. "I really don't know. I completely lost track of time there." Then I realized two things simultaneously. First, I had had no sexual desire at all during our little exchange. And second, I had no idea whether Erik was affected or not. I mean, when I Imprinted with Loren, I could actually visualise Heath, physically hurting. But when I Imprinted with Stark, there was nothing about Erik.

What if he hadn't been hurt? I rejoiced at this idea, but then realized that, if this were true, then I would probably still be Imprinted with him. Was that even possible? Being Imprinted to two guys at the same time? Well, there was no point questioning it now. Nyx worked in mysterious ways, but if and only if I was still Imprinted with Erik, it was probably for the best if she had intervened.

"We should probably get back to the others," Stark said, snapping me out of my seriously messed up head.

"Yeah," I agreed, then suddenly I wrapped my arms around his neck. I just wanted to be close to him before Neferet took him away from me again. He immediately responded, holding me tight against him. I didn't say anything, but he completely understood and kept me close. I breathed him in, needing anything and everything that I could get.

After a long moment, we both pulled back. Stark stood up, took my hand and pulled me up with him. Once I was standing beside him, he didn't let go of my hand and our fingers intertwined as we headed for the door.

The others were downstairs, watching TV as usual. The looked up as we entered.

"Well, you took your time," Aphrodite said, smirking. I glared in response, but it was half-hearted.

"Well? Do you feel any different?" Darius asked.

I hadn't even thought about it until then, but I frowned and turned to Stark, whose expression portrayed what I was feeling. I didn't feel any different. I knew we were Imprinted, because of the thing I had felt connecting us. But other than that, I had nothing.

"No," I responded to Darius, confused now. I looked at Stark again. "How about you? Do you feel different?"

_No_. "No," said Stark.

"Huh," I replied.

"What?"

"I . . . I heard you say 'no' before you said it." I told him, throwing him a questioning look. "How did that happen?"

Stark shrugged, and just before he opened his mouth it happened again. _I don't know. _I could hear him. And if the looks I was getting from my friends were anything to go by, I was the only one.

"I can hear you," I said slowly. "In my head. I can hear you in my head."

Stark frowned. "I can hear you, too," he said, then he laughed loudly. "I can hear you!"

I didn't want to mention that I didn't find this fact as amazing and amusing as he seemed to. I turned to the only other (and the only mature) Warrior in the room. "Darius?" I asked. "Do you know what's going on?"

Before he could answer, Erin said, "You guys can read each other's minds! That is _so _cool!"

For the second time that day, I wasn't sure I agreed with Erin. I could read Stark's mind. He could read mine. And it wasn't cool in the slightest. For one thing, I didn't want him in my head all the time. It was bad enough with the psychic, emotion feeling thing. And I could sense his emotions too, which I hoped would let him know how annoying it can be after a while. But that was completely different thing to _this. _I didn't want Stark reading every single thought I had, and I'm sure he didn't want me hearing his either.

"That seems to be what is happening," Darius said, nodding at Erin.

"It's not, though," Stark said, and we all looked at him. "aren't you supposed to have, like 60,000 thoughts per day? I mean, you're always thinking of something; it's impossible not to think, because if you're trying not to think you're thinking about not thinking, you know? So how come I'm not getting this huge rush of thoughts from Zoey?"

He was right, I realized. If Darius and Erin were right, then I should be receiving this instant chatter of thoughts, on top of my own. As if I didn't have enough on my mind? Well, this was a good discovery.

"Well, that certainly changes things," Darius countered. "But you both definitely heard the other?"

Stark and I both nodded.

"Maybe you can only hear certain thoughts?" Damien suggested.

"That would make more sense," I agreed. "I'm also not really sure about whether or not I'm still Imprinted with Erik. I never felt our Imprint break, but I felt it break with Heath when . . . you know."

"Maybe Nyx interfered," Jack piped up.

I smiled at him. "That's kinda what I was thinking, too."

"I guess whatever she chooses is right," Stevie Rae added. "Maybe being Imprinted with Erik is exactly what we need for this to work."

I shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. But, about the thoughts thing . . . Why is it happening?" Once again I directed the question to Darius and Damien.

They both shook their heads. "I never even heard of an Imprint between a Warrior and a High Priestess," Damien admitted.

I frowned, then faced Stark. "Can you hear me now?" I couldn't hear him.

He shook his head. "Nope. Nothing."

_How about now? _I didn't ask it out loud, and Stark smiled.

His reply wasn't spoken, either. _Yup. I can hear you._

Well, Damien was right. Stark could hear my thoughts if I intended him to, and vice versa. Huh. I wasn't sure whether I approved of that or not. If the link was strong enough so that when Neferet undoubtedly sent Stark back to the Dark Place we could still communicate, it would definitely come in handy. Later, though, it would either be very convenient or a total nuisance. Why the latter? Well, I assumed Stark would abuse it.

"Um, hello?" Aphrodite asked, waving her hand very close to my face. "We're all dying with the suspense here," she added sarcastically.

"We can hear each other if it's intentional," I confirmed.

"Well, that's good," Stevie Rae said, looking around at the others. "Right?"

"Right," Damien agreed, his gaze trapping mine. "As long as it holds out once Stark's gone," he said, echoing my thoughts.

"It will," Stark said. I looked at him questioningly, surprised at how he could possibly know this. He shrugged. "I mean, I don't know for sure. But why would Nyx bother letting it happen if it doesn't work?"

"Beats me," I agreed with him, but I was uncertain. Maybe this mind reading thing just came with every Warrior/High Priestess Imprint. There was no way of knowing whether it would work or not until Stark was gone, and if all hope was to be sucked out of him, I didn't want him going to the Dark Place without any hope whatsoever. If there was nothing to take, it surely would really be hell.

"So, you can feel each others strong emotions. You can hear each others thoughts. Stark, when Neferet brings you back to the Dark Place, keep Zoey updated on what's going on. We'll continue to look for a way to defeat Neferet and Kalona. Sound good?" Aphrodite checked.

I nodded. "Yeah, but first we have to find the fledglings that were supposed to be in the infirmary. Plus we've got to find Lenobia and Dragon to try to find out why Neferet killed Cassie."

"Yup, that's all on the list too," Aphrodite agreed. "So all we've got to decide now -"

"Crap! I forgot!" Stark said suddenly.

"Stark? What is it?" I asked.

"How the hell did I forget?" he asked himself before turning to face me. "Nyx."

"Nyx?"

"She came to me. When I was in the Dark Place. She wanted me to tell you - you have to be the one to kill Kalona. No one else can do it, or it won't work."

I don't know how I felt. Angry, anyway. Definitely. Angry at Kalona, at myself, at Stark, and even at Nyx. First of all, she had visited Stark - if she could do that, why did we have to go to so much trouble to bring him back? Surely she could have done it. And secondly, why had she used Stark as a messenger? Why couldn't she just have come straight to me?

And if I was being honest with myself, no, I didn't want Kalona dead, never mind being the one to kill him. Why, though? It was more clear to me that ever that he couldn't be trusted. I mean, he killed Heath! Why the hell did I want this awful, evil man alive?

Because I understood him, somehow. I myself wasn't one hundred percent sure how, but I did.

Then it hit me. The fact that my life was going to either end in, or include, murder. It wasn't until much later that I remembered Elliot, the lazy redhead whose death was the first I witnessed when his body rejected the Change. He was also the red fledgling I killed to save Heath down in the depot tunnels. And that Raven Mocker I burned up after he tried to slit my throat. The one who couldn't speak quite as well as Rephaim. If Raven Mockers counted, I'd taken two lives already. More, really, when it was all added up. If only I'd thought of that then, maybe things would have played out differently. But I didn't.

"How was Nyx able to reach you when you were in the Dark Place?" I asked Stark.

"Well, it was a strain for her. It took all her energy to be there because Neferet's power is so great now. She sort of faded away after a while," he replied.

My anger was quickly evaporating. I nodded. "Right. Okay. Well, what now?" This time, I was addressing Stark as well as my other friends.

"What else is there to do other than wait for Her Majesty to notice Arrow Boy's absence and come running to collect him?" Aphrodite pointed out.

I shrugged. "True. What's on TV?"

I took Stark's hand and led him to the sofa where my friends were all seated. We sat with them, not really paying attention to anything as we waited for Neferet, worried for each others safety.

Not long after we sat down, though, Neferet came in.

"You!" she yelled, pointing at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't. Don't even try this again. Never, ever, _ever _take him away from where I put him or you will regret it," she threatened.

And I was in a bad mood anyway, so she really annoyed me. I shouldn't have yelled back at her, for everyone's sake: mine, Stark's, my friends. Heath's, even. But I lost my temper and I did. "I'll do what I want! You don't control him, you can't just decide what you want everyone to do! This isn't some sick game, Neferet, this is real life and we're real people! So leave us alone!"

Neferet was in front of me before I could blink. Stark's hand loosed its grip on mine, and he was slowly sliding down. Great, she had already taken him. "You will regret everything you've ever done to cross me," Neferet hissed. "Starting tomorrow. Get some sleep, you're going to need it."

I only had time to be reassured by Stark's voice in my head saying, _I'm okay. Are you?_

Then Neferet was gone.

* * *

**Happy birthday Stark's NO1 Girl =)**

**Trix: My dog's name was Lou, and nope, I don't hate Phineas xD**

**This chapter was written by Taylor Swift's new album Speak Now, Joe McElderry, Ambitions and Mike Posner, Cooler Than Me.**

**This was about 5,300 words. So be generous with the reviews ;) Let's say about 20?**


	28. Chapter 28

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Thanks for the reviews, I'm pretty happy with the length of that last chapter =) And a load of you were confused about the Zoey/Erik thing ... I meant that I thought they'd be together, not in MY story. You guys know how much I love Stark xD I meant that in the real series, by the Casts, Zoey will probably ditch Stark since Erik's been there throughout the whole series (unless he dies... =]) and Stark'll probably be her Guardian or something, the end. Zoey and Erik together forever and ever amen =( I haven't even decided who Zoey'll end up with in my fanfic. Also, since this IS a fanfic and not a blog, I'll carry on with the whole writing thing now...

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I sent Stark a quick, _All good _before turning to my friends, who all displayed expressions of worry, presumably because of Neferet and her threatening self. Okay, yeah, I was annoyed too, but I really wasn't in the mood for Neferet at the moment, and thought it was probably best to ignore her. But like dirty laundry, ignoring Neferet doesn't make the problem go away. It just makes it worse. A lot worse.

"You shouldn't have yelled at her, Z," Aphrodite sighed, plopping down next to Darius. I hadn't noticed her get up, but she must have done so while Neferet was all up in my face. And now here she was, lecturing me, as if she was such a saint herself. As if she wouldn't have lost her temper if Neferet had been breathing inside her personal space.

"I know, but she's just so ... " I struggled to find a word fitting to describe my ex-mentor.

Aphrodite nodded knowingly. "Neferet's a superbitch, we all know that. Thing is, she just threatened you. And right now, our goal is to keep you alive, and I gotta say you aren't exactly making it an easy task. So will you stop trying to play heroine and let us try to protect you?" I was taken aback. As per usual, I had only been thinking of myself and no one else. I mean, had I not met my friends? Of course they would take it upon themselves to look after me. And of course Aphrodite was right, I was making it very difficult for them to do just that. "Okay, yeah, fine. I get it. I'll be more careful. I'm just worried about Heath, Stark, my grandma and all of you guys. It's kinda hard to concentrate." "Well, you should also be worried about yourself now, seeing as Neferet just threatened you. And it sounds pretty serious," Damien said quietly. As he spoke, my eyes travelled to Stark's passed out body instinctively. I don't know what made me do it - I guess I was just adjusting to Neferet and her evil ways. However, I knew that her threat was about to come to life soon, and it would most likely be through Stark. I wondered who she'd send through his body. I mean, she'd already sent Loren and Kalona, so how bad could it really be? How much worse could it get? Stark rose, and I prepared myself. I heard a couple of my friends taking a deep breath, and assumed that they were also getting ready for what horror Neferet had in store for us. "Zo?" the soul asked, and I let out the breath I hadn't realised I was holding. It was just Heath! I mentally rejoiced as I finally recognised how scared I had actually been, and that in itself scared me even more. What use was I if Neferet still possessed the ability to scare me? "I'm here, Heath, I'm here. Are you okay?" I added worriedly as he lowered his head to his hands and started to shake. I stepped closer. "Heath?" "No!" Darius shouted. I suppose his Warrior instinct told him something was wrong before the rest of us, even me, noticed anything. But it was too late. As Darius tried to get in front of me, even his Son of Erebus speed couldn't help him. I turned, wondering why he was acting so weird. That's when Heath dived for me, attacking me. I screamed in agony, and my friends rushed forwards. Heath looked up and growled at them, and I only had a chance to see his blood red eyes before I blacked out. ** I am SOOOOOO sorry I took so long to update! I've just been extremely busy with school and stuff. I promise I won't take this long again. Also, I apologise for the incredibly short chapter, but I figured it was better than nothing. I'll do my best to update either this week or next week. In other news, I'm (FINALLY) going to a Taylor Swift concert! She's coming to Ireland next March and I'm actually allowed go xD xD you have no idea how excited I am! **


	29. Chapter 29

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Merry Christmas everyone!

Okay, I know I've gotten into this really bad habit of only updating monthly... I can't promise it'll improve soon, because I have exams in February, but I'll do my best :)

Thanks so much to every single person who reviewed the last chapter, from the bottom of my heart. I know it was really bad, and sorry about the big chunk of a paragraph at the end.. First and last time I ever update on an iPad. It screws everything up xP

It was a year today since I started Stolen... I know it's really terrible that it's been a year and I'm still writing it, but hopefully I'll have it finished soon! Then I have to decide whether I'll continue with another sequel or just leave it there.

* * *

_Ah, hell, _I thought as I opened my eyes and acknowledged the black that surrounded me. What the hell had just happened? Neferet's revenge, I guessed. I mean, she already had control over Stark's body. It would only make sense that she also had control over the souls in it.

Now I faced a new problem, however. I was stuck in the dark while my friends were probably getting eaten. By my consort, who just so happened to be in my Warrior's body. Sigh.

And it's not even as if I was in the Otherworld or anything. I was just in darkness. Great, right?

I'm not even sure how long I was there. There was no sense of time there. You just existed, and dealt with it. Except I was really worried about my friends. What if Heath was attacking them?

_But it isn't Heath _I told myself. _That's Neferet. _It was _her _doing all of this, everything was her fault. It made me sad when I thought about how I used to see her as a mother figure. I looked up to her, and she let me down. It was just so much more disappointing because she was one of the few people I trusted.

My dad, for instance, didn't have my trust. He left me with my mom, who I trusted until John came into the picture. And I don't think it's necessary to mention that he doesn't classify as a person I'd trust either. But besides them, I did seem to have a history of trusting the wrong people. Kayla. The girl I trusted as my best friend, but who stabbed me in the back the second I was gone. I trusted Kalona, and got Heath killed because of it. So yeah, I had trust issues.

But I was right to trust Heath. He'd always been there for me. And all of my friends were, so far, trustable. With the slight exception of Stevie Rae hiding Rephaim, but I guess I'd kept plenty of things from her in the past, too.

However much I trusted my friends, somehow I knew that Stark could definitely be trusted, and for some reason I actually trusted him more than my friends. I regret that now. I regret trusting Stark with everything I had. But I couldn't help it, I just did. When I saw him that first day, something in me recognized him and knew that he could be trusted.

While I was having this epiphany about my lack of trust, I failed to notice the faint glow of light coming towards me. When I did see it though, I started. It had almost reached me now, and was beginning to form the familiar figure of Nyx. I relaxed.

"Hello, Zoey," Nyx smiled.

"Hello," I replied politely. I was more familiar with our goddess than I should have been, but we weren't really at the 'hey, s'up?' stage yet. And I doubted we'd ever reach it.

"How are you?" she asked, frowning at me.

I shrugged. "Well. Good, because Kalona's not here. Bad, because I'm Warriorless, Neferet's getting the upper hand in this fight, and has control of Heath's soul and Stark's body, which are both probably attacking my friends as we speak. How are you?"

Nyx smiled tiredly. "I am not well. Honestly, it is a strain to be here. This is where your Warrior was, and I came to talk to him. This is a place full of Darkness, and it is not welcoming to Light. It was very hard for me to stay here, and I had to leave him. I fear the same will happen now."

"What, so Neferet controls this place too?"

The goddess nodded. "She can make anything happen here. She was able to send you here through Heath." She paused. "Well. It's not really him. He doesn't know what has happened, and I expect he will be very upset when he realizes what he has unwillingly done."

"How long will I be here for?"

"I don't know, Zoeybird. As I said, Neferet will decide how long you spend here, and what will happen here. Beware of anyone she sends through James's body. He is the only one who has the ability to keep her out of it, though I don't think he realizes that."

I shook my head. "No, I don't think he does either."

Slowly the light pulsing around Nyx began to fade. "I am sorry, Zoey, but it seems I must go. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. Good luck," she added as she disappeared.

"Thanks," I said under my breath.

Truthfully, I was really worried. If the goddess couldn't deal with Neferet, and she clearly couldn't, why was everyone so sure that I could? She was obviously unstoppable. I knew I had to try, though.

I stared at where Nyx had been for a long moment, then turned. What I saw shocked me.

I was suddenly in the Otherworld, and Stark was standing behind me, smiling. Everything Nyx had said slipped from my mind as I ran towards my Warrior and threw myself into his arms.

* * *

**I know it's a little short, sorry. I'll try to make the next one longer =)**

**I know I'm really late, but congrats to Matt Cardle lol. **

**Happy Christmas guys, and happy New Year!**

**Oh, and if I was to put up a story that I wrote on this site, would you guys read it? Cause I'd prefer to put it up here before any other site because I know you guys and want your opinions first. It's not even finished yet, I only have like 3 chapters lol, but if I finished it? Let me know!**

**Thanks, **

**TOB.  
XOXOXOXOX**

**(Sorry again for the wait)**


	30. Chapter 30

****

**I just want to start off by saying that I am so, SO sorry. I DO have an explanation this time, though. I went on holidays the day after I updated, and when I came back I had to study a lot for exams I had at the start of February, then I was doing the actual exams and had no time to update at all. I'm so, SO sorry. I'll do my best not to let that happen again.**

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. **

**IlurveeChocolate.x - Thanks so much for all your reviews! It means a lot =)**

**jus2read - Haha thanks, you won't think that for long though ;)**

**LyricsArePoetry - Thank you! I'm not completely sure if I will, though.**

**panky95 - Aww thanks =) As soon as I have time I'll have to continue reading your fanfics!**

**Glee-Vamp-Girl - Thanks! Sorry I took so long though =/**

**Jelly Bean - Your review made my day. Thank you for taking the time to write such a long review! Lately it's been taking me ages to upload, I'm hoping to change that soon though!**

**Lena D - Thanks for commenting, and I am so so sorry it took so long!**

**Lilly - Thanks for both of your comments lol! Again, I'm REALLY sorry.**

**SlimyBookWorm - Firstly, thanks for reviewing! Secondly, I planned everything out a couple of months ago and I remember planning how Zoey was going to get her tattoos back and the reason Stark had the gut feeling, the thing is I actually can't remember it lol. So I'm going to have to find where I wrote down these ideas and work them back into the story! **

**.black - Thanks! I know most people weren't too happy that it wasn't Stark's baby and they were begging me to make it his instead lol.**

**Here's the next chapter.**

* * *

I stayed like that for a while, in the arms of my Warrior. The thing is, my thoughts didn't catch up with my actions soon enough. In fact, it took about five whole minutes for me to realize the massive mistake I had made. Like I said, I now regret trusting Stark so much. Given, this time wasn't actually his fault, but still. I regret trusting him.

"What's the matter, Zoey?" Stark asked after a while.

I took a deep, shaky breath and told him everything. About Heath attacking me, how Heath was probably attacking my friends at this very minute since Stark was clearly here with me and not back in his own body yet, everything Nyx had told me.

Stark said nothing, just continued to rub soothing circles on my back. That's how I first knew that something was wrong. It wasn't like him to remain calm - Stark would have been really angry about Heath attacking me and everyone else. He would have said something, _anything, _to me about it. So I pulled away from him.

"Stark?" I asked warily.

He looked at me questioningly.

"Are you... Are you okay?"

Slowly, his lips turned up in a smile. But it wasn't his usual cocky smile, the one that completely reflected his personality. This smile was a cold, evil, mocking smirk and I didn't like it one bit.

"Zoey," he said, stepping towards me. I took a step back. I didn't like the way my name sounded when he said it. It was still Stark's voice, but it had a cruel edge to it. His voice wrapped around my name, smothering it in hatred.

It was only then, as Stark continued to slowly walk towards me and I continued to walk back from him, that everything suddenly came to me. It hit me, and I realized my incredible stupidity.

"Stop," I said, and my anger made me sound a lot more confident than I was.

Stark's lips twisted again. He was enjoying this.

"_Stop_," I said again. This time I could feel the elements, especially spirit, swirling around me and adding to my power. My voice was much stronger. Stark stopped and glared at me. Now it was _my _turn to smile at _him_.

"Who are you?" Was my first question. I watched him struggle as spirit held him in place. He didn't answer.

"Who are you?" I repeated, pushing him back forcefully. All I knew was that there was no way in hell this was Stark.

I doubt very much that he would've answered, but before he could have even considered it, Neferet appeared. Of course.

You see, I should have known, especially after Nyx's warning, that Neferet controlled this whole place full of Darkness. She could make it appear as though Stark was here. She could do anything! I was warned, yet I was stupid enough to fall for her tricks.

"Zoey," she greeted, smirking.

I felt horrible. I knew I had been stupid. I let 'Stark' go. "Why?" was all I asked.

She just stared at me, still smiling and enjoying having the upper hand.

"Oh, don't worry, Zoey. You can leave," she said dismissively.

Yeah, okay. I was completely confused. "What's going on?" I asked suspiciously.

"Never you mind. You've served your purpose, Zoey." She turned to 'Stark'. "Well, come on."

"Hey!" I called as they walked away. "Come back! Neferet!"

But they were gone. What the hell was happening? This had to be the first time _ever _that Neferet didn't take the opportunity to laugh at my idiocy. Why? This was even more worrying than if she had told me what was going on. It just made me freak out.

I closed my eyes, defeated, and sat down. When I opened my eyes again, I was surrounded in darkness. Ugh. Great.

Who knew how long I could have been gone for? My friends were probably really worried. Unless... Unless Heath was still there. Damn it! I just wanted to get back and help them! I wanted to know what the hell had just happened with Neferet and 'Stark', and how I had 'served my purpose'. But most of all, I wanted to talk to my grandma. She'd know what to do in this situation, she always did.

When would I be able to see everyone again, if ever?

* * *

**Yeah, I know. Extremely short. Only like 800 words. PLEASE forgive me for the shortness and the not updating thing. I promise that the next chapter will be longer and far more interesting. I would write more, but I have to walk my dog before it gets dark(er) and since I'm walking him in the woods... I should leave immediately xP. I'll try to update much, much sooner, guys. I just wanted to give you SOMETHING. But hey, at least you know I'm actually alive now, right? xD**

**Songs I listened to while writing: 'Taylor Swift' by Tyler Dean, 'Rant' by Bo Burnham, 'H-O-A-R' by Bo Burnham and 'Love Ballad' by Bo Burnham. Yup, I love Bo Burnham. You should look him up. If you're not offended easily and like not extremely religious...**


	31. Chapter 31

**Yes, it is finally an update xD Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate it so much =)**

* * *

When I woke up, I was back with my friends and Heath appeared to be gone, seeing as Stark's body lay lifeless on the couch. My friends were gathered around me.

"You okay, Z?" Damien asked, sounding genuinely worried.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." I cleared my throat, which felt horrible. My voice was scratchy and rattling too, as if there was a rock perched inside it. "What happened? Did Heath hurt anyone?"

"No, thankfully," Darius assured me. "He left soon after you did. Except Stark hasn't come back either. Usually he's back sooner than this, though . . ." He trailed off, watching me with careful concern to see how I'd react to Stark's absence.

I wasn't as worried as he expected me to be. I mean, yeah, I was really worried about Stark, but I knew that there were only two possible explanations for what Neferet had done to Stark. And both of them caused for me to worry about him even more. He was supposed to be here. It wasn't his fault that this had happened, but he was supposed to be my Warrior; he was supposed to protect me.

"I, um, I saw Stark when I was in . . . Well, not the Otherworld, I guess it's kind of the opposite of that. But it was like this place full of Darkness, and Nyx was there to warn me, but Neferet created it, I guess. It was hard for Nyx to be there. But then Stark was there, except it wasn't really him, he was like possessed or something, and-"

"Woah, woah, Z, stop for a minute," Aphrodite interrupted me. "What do you mean? Neferet has the strength to create a whole counter- Otherworld thing? What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, I suppose we underestimated her. She has _way_ more power than we thought. Nyx warned me about it, but then I saw Stark and I just kind of assumed it would be him. I'm so stupid. I completely ignored everything that Nyx had just told me. And I told him everything, about Heath and all. Then Neferet came and told me I'd served my purpose. That was just after I realized it wasn't him," I tried to explain, knowing that I sounded crazy.

"What do you mean it wasn't him? Z, you're confusing me," Shaunee **(Shaunee? Shauna?... I think it's Shaunee) **said, sending me a worried glance.

"I don't know exactly what happened. But I'm guessing that either it _is _Stark, and he's weirdly possessed again, or else it wasn't him at all and Neferet was somehow able to recreate him in her weird Dark world, in which case we have no idea where Stark actually is and he's probably being hurt or tortured because, come on, it's Neferet," I rushed to tell my friends my theory.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. I waited silently and patiently while my friends considered what I had just told them. Before long though, I realized I was still sitting on the rather hard ground, and I decided to get up and move to another seat. Preferably one that was not taken up with my Warrior's still body.

After a few minutes, I felt thin arms wrap around me. "Oh, Z, I'm so sorry!" Stevie Rae cried dramatically. I looked up and realized that the others were also looking at me with expressions of sympathy and pity. Needless to say, I was confused. I mean, yeah, it really sucked that Stark was gone, but surely we'd get him back. From the way they were looking at me, you would've thought that the kid had just died. I frowned.

"What? You think it's hopeless? That Stark's just . . . just _gone_?" I demanded. Damien looked at the ground, clearly ashamed. Darius was still looking at me pitifully, and the Twins looked upset. I didn't even look at anybody else - I was already angry.

"Great. Just great. After all we've been through, you're just gonna give up and decide there's nothing we can do when we don't even _know_ what's happened to Stark? Well, how fantastic for you. _Oh, no, don't bother, he's probably dead_," I did a horrible imitation of what they hadn't said, but implied. "I'm sure he'd be delighted with the efforts you've gone to for him, when you _know_ that he'd make a special effort for you," I spat, bringing on an incredibly awkward silence.

"Z, we didn't mean-"

"No, Erin, don't. It doesn't even matter. Look, I'm sorry for getting so mad at you guys, but I don't think he's dead. I know I haven't been getting those intuituve senses from Nyx lately, but if he was dead, I would know it." At this point, my eyes were beginning to swim with tears threatening to spill over.

"I trust you, Zoey," Stevie Rae whispered. "I'm going to stick with you on this."

I smiled a little shakily, only now realizing that Stark could possibly be in severe trouble. My friends nodded in agreement with Stevie Rae.

"Thanks guys. I really am sorry. I just got irritated," I tried to tell them. Now I was embarrassed. I didn't know why I freaked at them. In hindsight, it was obvious that they weren't about to back out on me. Of course they would do their best to find Stark. He was as much a part of our group as the rest of us now.

I suddenly realized that everyone was looking at me. What, I was supposed to plan everything? As usual? I sighed.

"Look, I don't know what's happened. Neferet's already stolen Stark's body. Now she's taken his soul or spirit or whatever. But she's not going to keep it. We can figure out what happened and get him back." I decided.

Darius smiled. "Let's go find Neferet, then."

* * *

**There. I think that's around 1,000 words. Whew, it took me ages to write this. I'm just so out of the House of Night mood "/ Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, and thanks for reading this. If you did. Only old people read these days, so if you read it, wahey xD**

**Bo Burnham was listened to frequently while writing this xP **

**'Squaring numbers are just like women, if they're under 13 just do them in your head.' Gotta love Bo =)**

**I didn't spell check.**


	32. Author's Note

**Hey! I'm so so sorry for letting this go on for so long! I will HOPEFULLY be uploading really soon. I just want to reread my stuff first, so I can maybe get back into the whole 'House of Night' thing.**

**Thanks to everyone whose stuck around this long! I love you guys 3 **

**~TOB**


	33. Apology

Hey everyone! (If anyone still comes here. I don't know.)

It's literally been years since I was on here, and I'm still trying to work out how to work this futuristic looking version of FF. I came back on because I really do owe you all an apology.

When I first started writing here, I uploaded constantly- probably way too much. It's hard to believe it was a whole four years ago. I finished Burned in a matter of months as you probably know, and started Stolen immediately. THAT dragged and dragged and dragged, and that's one of the things I want to apologise for. I know that the story still isn't finished, and I don't read House of Night anymore, so I'm really not sure what to do.

Personally, I don't care about the story anymore- the actual books or my fanfics. I think the last one I read was Destined, and even while I was reading it I had no interest. So it really wouldn't bother me if I never finished Stolen.

**However,** if any of you _do _still like HoN, I'd be willing to finish it. I very much doubt any of my original readers would come back, but I've received some reviews relatively recently from some of you asking for an update. So, if enough people want me to continue and finish, I'd be willing to reread what I have up here and try and remember where I was going (or maybe figure out a better ending).

So please review or PM me to let me know if you want this to (FINALLY) end.

Some more of my apologies to you include my ridiculous and embarrassing rants because I was a 13 year old unable to take criticism, and of course I have to apologise for how absolutely rubbish my writing was. Like I said, I was 13 and thought I knew fucking everything. I hope I've improved in the last four years. My final apology is because I'm about to self promote, lol.

I've mentioned before that I was writing something original, and I finally did that about a year ago. My friend Ciara and I are cowriting a story called Fixing You, and we've put it up on Wattpad. If you'd like to read it, and I'd appreciate it an incredible amount if you did, you can find me on Wattpad with the username ObsessiveBookworm. I'll post the first chapter of it on here, and I'll give you the link to it if you'd like to check it out.

I'm also on Wattpad a lot more than FF (this is the only time I've been here since like 2 years ago), so if you want to talk it'd probably be a lot easier to contact me there. Here's the summary for Fixing You:

**Ashling Byrne just moved to the US from Ireland. She meets Daniel Gray by chance and they become close. But Ashling's past holds nothing but abuse, and Daniel's got a temper that brings back too many memories. Both are hiding secrets, and sooner or later everything will come out...**

**Shaun Hale is gay. Rejected by his friends, all he has left is his best friend Daniel and his boyfriend Adam. Shaun gets a lot of abuse for being gay, but it's nothing compared to what Adam goes through. But what can Shaun do when Adam barely acknowledges the bullying?**

**Daniel's older brother Hudson is stuck in a wheelchair following a car accident he was involved in last year. His best friend Gracie and his brother Daniel are constantly fussing over him, and it's driving him crazy. And when he begins to develop feelings for Gracie, he fully realizes the setbacks of being disabled. **

**Six people need to be fixed but don't know it. Slowly but surely, they all attempt to mend each other. But will everyone be okay in the end or are some problems just too hard to fix?**

Here's the link to FY:

** story/1245239-fixing-you**

****So please check out Fixing You, and please let me know if you want me to continue Stolen.

P.S: I know I had a story on here about Stark's life before he moved to the House of Night, but I won't be continuing that. I don't remember enough about Stark to write it, and I'm not going to reread the books, so it would end in you all getting annoyed with me for not knowing basic things :P

Thank you so much, if you're still here.

Love,

TOB x


	34. Fixing You

**So I stupidly messed up the link for Fixing You. Here it is:**

**w w w . wattpad . c o ' m story/1245239-fixing-you**

**Just remove the spaces and the apostrophe and you should find it :)**

**Here's the first chapter of the story my friend Ciara and I are writing. Please give it a try (I promise my writing is a hell of a lot better than it was four years ago), let me know what you think, and maybe continue reading it on Wattpad? The summary is in my previous update.**

* * *

**Daniel's POV**

"I think you should bang her."

Only my best friend, Shaun Hale, would actually have the audacity to shout these words from halfway across the basketball court, loud enough to draw the attention of a couple of students studying on the benches.

I winced. "Do you really have to be so freaking loud?"

Shaun shot the ball through the air, and I watched as it sailed through the net and bounced back to him. He caught it easily and jogged to my side.

"Sorry man, but seriously, she's hot and she's been throwing herself at you all summer. I don't know why you haven't gotten in there yet."

The girl he was referring to was Caroline Mitchell. In her mind, her father being the principal of our school gave her the right to own everything and everyone in it, especially me. It was only recently she began paying attention to me, and although I would like to believe it was because of my charming personality, I knew better. I had overheard the girls talking often enough to know that they considered me hot.

"Nah dude, I don't want to be tied down right now," I told Shaun.

"Then just hump and dump," he said without any hesitation. The students sitting on the benches looked up with disgusted expressions.

I groaned. "You have no filter."

"No, but I do have amazing abs."

"Yeah, whatever, I don't want to be just another guy she adds to her collection."

"So why don't you add her to yours?"

I looked away. Shaun was under the impression that I was a major player, but to be honest I hadn't been with a girl in what seemed like forever. Between taking care of my brother and work I just didn't have the time, and I really couldn't be bothered making the effort.

"I'll think about it," I lied.

We were both sweaty from playing basketball when we should have been in Physics. I heard my stomach growl and realised how starved I was. The bell rang faintly in the distance and we began to make our way inside.

I saw the double doors of the school burst open, and out flew a mess of blonde hair and paint splattered clothes that I would recognise anywhere. I watched as the boy flung himself at a surprised Shaun and crushed his lips to his. The shock disappeared from Shaun's face and was replaced by a smile as he wrapped his arms around Adam and enthusiastically responded to the passionate kiss.

I looked at the ground, slightly uncomfortable. I mean, I was now used to Shaun being gay after he told me six months ago, but it was still weird to see him like this. He had been seeing Adam in secret for about a year before he told me, and they came out to the school about a month ago. They had to put up with a lot of crap from our peers, and although I reacted badly at first, I was now accustomed to it and Shaun and I were as close as we had always been.

Besides, I loved Adam. He completed Shaun, if that doesn't sound too gay. Adam had a particularly eccentric personality, and Shaun was blatantly outspoken. Shaun was a pretty laid back guy, but when Adam was around he was a completely different person. He was happier, kinder and just better.

The two in question broke away, breathless.

"Wow, did someone miss me?" Shaun teased with a smile.

"Maybe," Adam breathed, leaning into him then suddenly pushing Shaun away. "Eew, you stink!" he wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Shaun rolled his eyes. "It's called sweat, Adam. It comes with physical activity so I can understand why you wouldn't be too familiar with it."

"Hilarious," Adam dead panned, then swiftly elbowed Shaun in the ribs.

"Ouch!" Shaun bellowed, bending over in mock pain.

Adam began to run away, but Shaun lunged at him, picked him up and spun him around before turning Adam to face him and planting a kiss on his open mouth.

I was physically unable to witness any more of this gag worthy romance. I grabbed the basketball and aimed at Shaun's head. Luckily, it hit its target and the two broke apart instantly. Shaun hissed in pain and brought his hand to his head. I smiled, satisfied with my work.

"Come on, lovebirds, I'm starving to death over here!"

"Alright, alright, we're coming," Shaun grumbled as he threw his right arm over Adam's shoulder and continued rubbing his head.

Once we got through the door I was, well, I suppose you'd have to say attacked by Caroline.

"Where have you been, Danny?" she purred, touching my arm. I flinched away. "I missed you in Physics today, but I'm sure we'll have chemistry tonight."

Shaun sauntered past, waggling his eyebrows at me. I noticed he had let go of Adam, and this annoyed me a great deal. Shaun really loved Adam, but he didn't like to display a lot of affection in public, even though everyone knew about their sexual orientation by now. I knew it bothered Adam too, but he never said anything.

"I was outside," I told Caroline, beginning to walk away. Of course, she followed me. Damn, she was clingy.

"Maybe next time I could come with you," she suggested with a flirtatious smile. We had reached the cafeteria by now.

"Um, yeah, I dunno, it's kind of a thing I just do with Shaun," I replied.

"Oh," Caroline pouted, clearly put out. "I guess we'll just have to hang out some other time, then," she decided, flipping her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder in that annoying way girls do.

I sighed loudly. I'd had enough. "You know what, Caroline, I'm not interested, okay? I know you like me, but I'm not into you. So go find someone else to annoy. You just don't do it for me. Sorry," I added as an afterthought. Harsh, I know, but I needed to get the message across.

Caroline's nostrils flared. "You'll regret saying that, you know," she warned me. Knowing Caroline, I probably would, but at that moment I really didn't care.

She strutted off and I headed towards a table, feeling like all eyes were on me. I sat with Shaun and Adam, not 'the popular table' where Adam was never accepted for being openly gay, where Shaun was no longer welcome for having the balls to admit his sexuality and where Caroline was sure to be.

"What was that about? She looked pissed off." I could sense Shaun scrutinising me. I shrugged, letting him know that I didn't want to talk about it.

"She looks so upset," Adam said sadly, watching Caroline. I could never understand how the kid could evoke genuine sympathy for literally anyone, even someone like Caroline who was a bitch to him almost all of the time. I shrugged again.

"I still think you should bang her," Shaun said with a grin, earning himself another elbow in the ribs from Adam.

* * *

**I really hope you liked it :) There are 11 more chapters posted on Wattpad that you can read immediately, and we have 9 more chapters ready to be posted, so it's looking good right now :) Please please PLEASE check it out, cause I'd really like to keep in touch with a lot of you through Wattpad. I'm really happy with this story so far, which is a first for me, so please do let me know what you think.**

**And like I said before, let me know if you want me to continue Stolen. Fixing You is my priority, and I have exams this year, but if there's enough interest I'll finish it.**

**Thank you :)**

**-TOB x**


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